


The Douchebag, The Asshole, and Their Kids: A Love Story

by Teamironmanforever



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: BAMF Tony Stark, Extremis Tony Stark, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Pre-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Space Shenanigans, Strangefamily, Trust Issues, learning how to parent, not very team cap friendly, super bucky friendly tho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2019-06-28 13:14:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 55,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15707964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Teamironmanforever/pseuds/Teamironmanforever
Summary: Stephen Strange - sorcerer supreme, former neurosurgeon and resident asshole - is tasked by his fellow sorcerers with speaking with Tony Stark - genius, billionaire, philanthropist, part time hero and full time douchebag - after the “civil war.” The two get off to a rocky start as miscommunication, mistrust, and past pains threaten to do them in.However, both men are nothing if not adaptable and, with the threat Tony can’t get out of his head, the two will have to work in close quarters to stop earth from coming to harm. All while leading a brand new avengers team and co-parenting three meddlesome teenage kids that seem to have it in their head that the wizard and the genius want in on each other’s pants.





	1. An unexpected meeting

**Author's Note:**

> "Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."  
> \- William Jennings Bryan

“Tea?” Wong asked calmly from where he stood by the entrance to the library. 

Stephen’s head snapped up at that, the book he was tightly holding in his hands closing with a snap. “I am more of a coffee person myself,” he quipped as he forced his shoulders to relax from their tense position. 

When he was younger, he would get so caught up in books that he would jump out of his skin every time someone tried to disengage him from his reading. He had mostly let go of that tendency once he had become a doctor, as loud noises had become a given while he had to concentrate on operating and saving lives, particularly during his time as a resident in the ER. But, after so many months of quiet training in Kamar Taj, sudden noises when his mind was elsewhere once again were starting to bother him. 

It was most annoying, not that he could tell Wong that. The man would most likely play beyonce for a month straight at full blast just to condition Stephen to noise again. 

“You can have coffee then. You and I need to talk,” Wong said tersely, not waiting for Stephen to ask any questions before leaving the room. He walked away with ease, moving through the sanctum so quietly Stephen had to admit he silently envied that. 

“What did you wish for us to discuss?” Stephen asked as they reached the kitchen area they seemed to find themselves in more often than not. 

“The Sanctums are in danger, Stephen,” Wong said, looking at him as if he was an idiot and this conversation had been a long time coming. “You might have dealt with Dormammu, but Kaecilius did manage to kill the Masters of the London sanctum and heavily damage it. Without Mordo… we have lost far too many masters in a short period of time. The master in the Hong Kong Sanctum is sending one of her own to London for the time being, but we will need to establish a full fledge master there soon. We will need to send sorcerers there too, to serve under one master, if we are to see the Sanctums strong again.” 

Stephen tilted his head. “Why are you telling  _ me _ this? Isn’t this something you should be discussing with Master Minoru and Master Hamir? I mean they are the ones currently in charge of Hong Kong and Kamar Taj." 

Wong looked entirely unimpressed. “Stephen, the ancient one made you the master of the New York Sanctum. You are now equal in ranking to Master Minoru. This problem in the London Sanctum? It falls on your shoulders to solve it too.” 

Stephen gaped at him. “But that’s preposterous. You all have been masters for much longer than I have and-”

“Yes and that is why I am the master of our libraries - of our  _ knowledge _ ,” Wong cut him off expertly. “It involves me just as much as it involves you,” he assured Stephen. “But the point remains, we must find a solution.” 

Stephen spluttered for a few more moments, which gave Wong enough time to put boiling hot water on two cups, one which he passed on to Stephen for his coffee. 

The man picked it up numbly, churning the issue in his head. “How many of our students in Kamar Taj are ready to officially become sorcerers?” 

“Not enough,” Wong said with a sigh. “Each Sanctum is meant to have a Master and a second, in case something happens. We also have at least two or three sorcerers in each Sanctum to protect it at any time of day. Hong Kong lost two of its sorcerers in the fight against dormammu. Master Minoru has agreed to send her second to London, but that leaves only her and a young apprentice in Hong Kong. We are sending two young sorcerers - who graduated just recently - to London to help Master Minoru’s second.” 

“Can Master Minoru’s second stay permanently in London?” Stephen asked curiously, completely forgetting about making his coffee. 

Wong looked grim. “That will most likely be the case if we can’t find an optimal replacement, though it would be most unfortunate as he has trained for almost a decade to lead the Sanctum in Hong Kong. Each Sanctum has a different type of magical signature and energy. Masters acquaint themselves with their own sanctums and some synchronise their energy to the point that they can draw mana from the Sanctum itself. To restart that process would be… a waste of potential.” 

Stephen’s brows shot up. “I had no idea that was possible,” he admitted. Of course, he had felt the almost overwhelmingly strong magical energy of the New York Sanctum from the moment he had step a foot inside, but he had never imagined part of his job was to become one with that energy. 

Wong raised a brow. “I know you have felt the energy in this Sanctum, Stephen,” the man said with a smirk. “The Sanctum accepted you the minute the Ancient One handed the reins over to you. If you were to access the astral plane here, or even just deeply meditate, you will find the Sanctum more than willing to open itself up to you.” 

“But why wouldn’t the London Sanctum accept Minoru’s second, then?” Stephen asked confused. 

“Because only the Ancient one had the power to bend a Sanctum’s magical energy to do her will. That was her prerogative as the Sorcerer Supreme. Since she did not assign the Sanctum to Jaelus, he has to gain its loyalty. The Sanctums answer most strongly to the holder of the eye of Agamotto, which brings me to my next point, actually,” Wong said, coming to sit on the breakfast table, with a look in his eyes that made Stephen’s blood run slightly cold in anticipation. “Our order cannot go without a Sorcerer Supreme.” 

Stephen sat down next to Wong then, his frown deepening. “And how does the order go about selecting the Sorcerer Supreme?” 

“We don’t,” Wong clarified. “The eye of Agamotto is the one that selects the Sorcerer Supreme. There is no relic more powerful than the eye, nor an artifact more wise than it, considering it has seen all the ages of this world. Only the holder of the eye has the privilege to undergo the training of Sorcerer Supreme.” 

Stephen swallowed hard, having a prickling feeling of where this was going but clamping down on his hunch with an iron will of denial. “But the eye doesn’t have a holder right now. The Ancient one is dead.” 

Wong once again looked enitrely unimpressed. “Stephen… you are the current holder of the eye. You have used it without dying and without destroying the fabric of reality. The eye has already chosen you.” 

Stephen felt as if they had thrown a bucket of ice cold water on him. “But I… I don’t… Wong I have trained for, what, a year? I can’t be expected to-”

“You will not be alone in this,” Wong said gently, or as gently as the man could manage. “I will take care of New York while you go back to Kamar Taj to train. Your training will be carried mostly through the books written down by the Ancient One herself for her successor. It will take a year or two, perhaps, but you will learn magic unavailable to most others. You will succeed, Stephen, because Earth’s safety depends upon it. The Avengers are there for physical threats, we are here for a different purpose." 

Stephen snorted. “That’s if they even stay together. Weren’t countries angry at them for the Stunt in Sokovia a few months ago? I doubt the Avengers will be around forever, Wong.” 

“That is not our concern, nor will we get involved in that, regardless of what happens with them,” he said with finality as he stood up. “You should pack today, and head back to Kamar Taj. There’s much for you to learn.” 

Stephen sighed but nodded, waiting until Wong was out of the kitchen to go down to the room where they kept the mythical eye of Agamotto. He had not been there since their victory against Dormammu a few weeks back and, truly, he had rather hoped not to find himself there again. 

He looked at the seemingly harmless object, biting his lip softly as he reaches out with permanently trembling fingers. He could feel a warm pulsing energy emanating from the artifact. An energy he had been in tune with ever since he had performed that fist spell on the apple. 

A part of him, the part that still wished for his hands and his old life back, did not believe Wong even in the slightest. The bigger part of him, the part that had felt the Eye answering to his every command in the loop, knew that this was not only very much real but also unstoppable. He would become the Sorcerer Supreme or die trying.

Stephen sighed again. For a second, he felt a wave of impotence at the new prospect his life was taking; it seemed even now he would get no rest. 

* * *

Wong entered into the temple through one of his portals, feeling immediately the change of energy in the place. He had not been able to visit Kamar Taj in almost a year and a half, what with Stephen leaving the New York Sanctum to train in the ways of the Sorcerer Supreme. 

Wong had never had a problem living alone, of course. After all, he had spent years meditating by himself when he had been tasked with Mastery over the libraries and ancient knowledge. Still, as much of an asshole as Stephen could be, Wong had grown fond of the man, and it had been weird for Wong to only catch glimpses of the Wizard here and there for over a year now. 

“Ah, Master Wong,” Minoru said with a small smile. “You’re finally here, we were waiting for you. The ceremony is ready to begin.” 

Wong bowed slightly as a sign of respect before nodding to let her lead the way. “Do you think he is ready?” 

Minoru sighed. “He is still new to our ways - he has only been a practitioner for two years and change - but I have never seen someone learn and master the art as fast as him. I think the Ancient One would have been proud of what he has accomplished thus far. He is ready to take on his role in our order, but I don’t think he’ll ever truly be ready. None of us ever are.” 

Wong hummed. “I assume the shift of energy here is because of him?” 

Minoru nodded, her eyes roaming the empty courtyard as they walked. “It has truly been spectacular to watch. The wards have taken to him, as have the Sanctums. Everything is… changing. He has such a vibrant, overwhelming power inside of him, everything feels… revitalized.” 

Wong hid his surprise as best as he could. This was the first time he had heard Minoru compliment anyone outside of the Ancient One. It seemed that the Eye of Agamotto had not chosen wrong. 

They entered the inner temple quietly, aware that the other three masters had already begun preparing their elements. They were each standing on their corners, golden bands firmly wrapped around their hands. Wong and Minoru took their own positions around Stephen, who had not moved a muscle from his meditation pose when the two had come in.

They wrapped the golden silk bands around their hands and part of their arms, sitting down to mirror everyone else. Once the two were seated the bands began to glow, and one tip flew from their hand to Stephen, lighting up the levitation cloak with golden streaks. Stephen took a deep breath and kept his face clear of all emotion as the bands elongated and the silk turned hot and liquid like molten chocolate. It ran down the entire borderline of the cloak, turning a long line of red into pure gold. 

Master Hamir's band ran lower, wrapping itself around Stephen’s middle to create a golden toga-looking band that hung half loosely around the man’s waist. 

The bands shone brightly for a few minutes before finally subsiding, Stephen waited a few minutes to open his eyes, his usually clear blue eyes tinged with the Eye’s bright glowing green. 

No one dared move until Stephen quipped “That was anticlimactic.” 

Wong snorted. “Your very magical core has just been forever altered and expanded to levels permitted solely for the sorcerer supreme, and you find that anticlimactic?” 

Stephen stood up slowly, still not looking fully present. His green tinged eyes seemed to be looking everywhere but at the present. After a few minutes he shrugged, as if only just then hearing Wong. “so what happens now?” 

“Now you start on your duties as Sorcerer Supreme,” Hamir said, endlessly patient. “And we have the first task for you."

“Yay me,” Stephen said dryly, feeling the beginnings of a headache forming in the back of his mind. It would take a while to get used to this new… energy he was carrying around with him. 

Jaelus smirked. “It is not so much a task as a decision that you have to make. It concerns the Avengers.”

Stephen gave him a quizzical look and raised a brow. “Why would we care about the Avengers? I thought Wong said they were not our concern, regardless of what happened with them.”

“They have become very much our concern, actually, and for several reasons. The first being that they no longer exist,” Minoru said with a sigh. “That means both magical and physical threats might be more pronounced.”

Stephen froze. “What do you mean they no longer exist? Were they all killed?” He asked, not wanting to even think about the massiveness threat that could bring all of them down.

Wong shook his head. “They're alive. They're just no longer a team.”

Stephen groaned and ran a hand through his hair. “I think you need to explain from the beginning. I haven't kept up with any news not related to the Mystics Arts for over a year.”

“It started with Sokovia two years ago. People no longer trust those that claim to be their protectors. The UN got involved and tried to provide them with oversight to keep international laws from being broken. They would have to be accountable for damages and lives lost. Their missions would also be somewhat curtailed to higher level threats only. The team disagreed on whether or not to sign. The Captain seems to have gone rogue and Iron Man was tasked with bringing them in,” Minoru recounted, distaste clear on her face. “As of right now, five former Avengers are on the run along with one enhanced superhuman who has been working as an assassin for over half a century, though it is unclear to us whether it was by will. Only three Avengers remain, and of those only two remain combat ready.” 

Stephen gaped at Minoru, slowly trying to process the information. “Wait, so the Avengers disintegrated because… what, the world told them you can't do whatever you want and they didn't listen?”

“That might be an oversimplification,” Jaelus said, a tad uncomfortable. 

“Why does it concern us? We don't work at a physically palpable level like they do,” Stephen asked, though he couldn't push away the gnawing feeling of worry at the fact that one Avenger had been pronounced no longer combat ready.

He sincerely hoped they had not killed one another. That would be them reaching a new low. 

“Because, during the fighting that ensured between the two sides, we discovered that they possess a magically gifted member who is grossly misusing said abilities,” Hamir said, and Stephen felt a chill run down his spine. He had never seen such anger in the amicable man’s eyes. “She has caused untold wreckage. She orchestrated a number of attacks prior to joining the avengers.  We assumed she was reformed as she was allowed onto the team. However, with her on the run, we have been forced to reconsider. that We also don't know if she has been properly trained.”

“So the decision falls onto you,” Wong finished, as the masters looked at Stephen expectantly. 

“I have to choose whether we train a fugitive or not?” Stephen clarified, still looking as annoyed as when he first had been told this concerned the Avengers. 

“You have to choose whether we begin searching for her or not. You must decide whether we give her the chance to train and you must decide what to do if she chooses to refuse the offer of training. Personally I would recommend you seal her powers away forever,” Minoru said, as mercilessly as always. 

Stephen knew for a fact she hated reckless and cruel magic use. If it were up to her, Stephen could tell the woman would not only take away the magic user’s powers, but would most likely throw them into a dark cave for a few decades. 

“We also need to consider lending our aid to the few Avengers that remain,” Hamir said with a sigh. “At least for a time. We are spread thin, but they are spread even thinner and that puts Earth in grave danger.”

“There is also the matter of the Android - who remains as an Avenger. He is in possession of an infinity Stone. He needs to be warned. He needs to protect it - just as you protect the Eye.”

Stephen paled at that. He had not learned of the Eye’s real power until he had undertaken the Ancient One’s training. Needless to say, he had no fucking idea why the time stone itself had chosen him, but now it seemed it had also chosen to saddle him with more problems than he knew what to do with.

“Okay, we’ll deal with one thing at a time,” Stephen said as he took a few calming breaths. “I am open to suggestions on how to handle this.”

“You ought to talk to Tony Stark. He is the head of what remains of the Avengers. He can prove an asset when it comes to both speaking to the stonekeeper and the untrained magic user,” Wong said, wanting for a second to be but a fly in that room. 

He had never met Tony Stark in person, but he had seen enough interviews to know he and Stephen would likely have a lot in common. He wasn't sure however if it would be all snarky remarks and intellectual exchanges or if the two would clash with each other´s douchey exteriors. 

Either way, it was sure to be an spectacle he wanted to see.  


“Alright, I will go speak to Stark then,” Stephen said with a sigh. “Any ideas where I might find him at this time of day?” 

“He has been spotted in Queens a lot as of late,” Wong said. 

“Should I even ask why you know that?” Stephen said with a sigh, half knowing that the answer probably lay somewhere between daytime talk show TV and Nightly news. 

“Go do your job, and leave poor Wong alone,” Jaelus said with a chuckle, opening a portal for Stephen to step through. 

* * *

The first thing the newly appointed Sorcerer Supreme noticed was that it didn't feel like a regular Saturday Morning in Queens. Something felt… off. He couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. It was not like something was on fire or aliens were invading earth again. No it was… a gnawing feeling at the back of his mind that there was a threat somewhere nearby. 

The cloak, whether due to Stephen's distress or its own mystical abilities, seemed to be thinking along the same lines as its sorcerer, for it perked up and began pulling Stephen in the direction of Flushing Park. 

“Would you stop yanking me? I get it, you want us to go there,” Stephen murmured under his breath as he stretched his neck. Sometimes the cloak got a little too excited. 

The cloak slapped him softly on the shoulder for his cheek. Stephen merely smirked as he continued flying, this time putting in a little more speed, if only to please his sentient companion. 

He was soon greeted with the sight of what appeared to be a new superhero, dressed in all red and blue, with his face fully covered. He was chatting away with the numerous gang members he seemed to be fighting, which unnerved Stephen.

“Watch out!” The wizard screamed without thinking as a large man appeared out of nowhere behind the young sounding superhero. 

The masked man did not have enough time to react before the larger man stabbed him square in the back with an obscenely large knife. 

Stephen reacted on instinct. 

He threw the cloak out to grab Peter and put pressure on the wound as he encased the hero´s assailants all in the mirror dimension. He made a few complicated motions with his hands, that soon granted him burning lasos, which he used to tie them all up together. 

“You are very lucky I am feeling merciful today, or you would all be dead” Stephen lied as he dropped them all harshly on the ground. He grabbed his sling ring and immediately opened a portal, before screaming “Go!” 

The cloak did as it was told, flying as fast as it could, with Stephen hot on his heels. The cloak dropped Peter on one of the healing beds, and Stephen rushed to his side, quickly pulling the mask off to try to get the man out of the suit. 

“Oh my god,” he breathed out as he dropped the mask to the ground. 

It was a fucking  _ kid.  _


	2. First Impression

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I influence anybody who is able to get through the chaos of my first impression."   
> \- Gary Vaynerchuk

Once the shock from realizing that the masked vigilante - wannabe superhero, Stephen’s mind supplied - was but a child passed, Stephen was able to concentrate on the more pressing issue; the kid was gravely hurt. 

He dropped the red mask on the ground and moved around the bed to slowly turn Peter around, making sure his head was tilted to the side so he could still breathe. He frowned softly, part of him not wanting to break the clearly expensive and technologically advanced suit the kid was wearing. He was sure the kid hadn't made the suit himself - unless he was some kind of well hidden, rich genius - which meant the suit belonged to someone else. That in turn meant breaking it would likely get the kid in trouble. But then again, his life was infinitely more important than any trouble he could get in.

With his decision made the former surgeon summoned a pair of medical scissors he still kept and quickly cut through the back of the suit, using his magic to beat the highly resistant and hard fabric into submission. He dropped the scissors on a nearby table and grabbed rubbing alcohol and a gauze to clean the boy’s back. The wound was deep enough that it would need stitches - stitches which we couldn’t do, not unless he wanted to leave a horrible scar on the kid. 

Stephen raised his left hand and made a fluttering motion before raising his index and middle fingers towards his mouth. His fingers glowed bright yellow, as if covered by magid dust. “Wong, please get Christine Palmer here  _ now _ ,” Stephen urged, his request now a command by virtue of his position.  

The dust-like particles suddenly flew away, disappearing into thin air in their quest to get to Wong. Stephen made sure to keep pressure on the wound as he waited for the two to arrive. Christine had never been to the Sanctum, nor had Wong ever personally met her, but Stephen had spoken to him about her, and Stephen knew his friend - could he even call Wong that? - would find her. 

“You better have a life or death situation, Stephen,” Wong warned once a portal opened near the medical bay. “My meeting with the other masters was not done.” 

Stephen rolled his eyes, but smiled warmly once Christine crossed over to their side of the portal. She looked unsure at the glowing portal, as if still not believing she could go from being in a bustling emergency room to the middle of an ancient building in downtown Manhattan. Those same eyes turned sad when they finally locked with Stephen’s. They had broken up for good this time before Stephen had left to train as Sorcerer Supreme. His work was too important, he had said. He couldn’t afford to be distracted, and she had agreed. She had a career and a life she wanted to enjoy too, and Stephen’s reality was just… too different from her own. 

It didn’t mean she didn’t miss him from time to time, like now, when seeing him was an unexpected treat. 

“Sorry for pulling you away, from work, but I need your help,” Stephen said, doing away with the usual greeting pleasantries as he wasn’t sure just how much blood the young man had lost by now. 

He beckoned them closer, turning to face the kid whom felt warm even through the large towel-like fabric he was using to press against the wound. “I found him in Queens a little while ago. He was masked in a red and blue suit. He was stabbed. I got him out of there before they could kill him. I have cleaned the wound, but I can’t help him, not with my hands.” 

Christine nodded with understanding, her doctor training snapping her into action. “Okay, let me see the wound,” she said as she took the fabric from Stephen’s hand, removing it carefully to avoid doing more damage. She frowned, confused, once she lifted it up. “Stephen this is… is that… oh my god, I think it’s healing itself.”

Both Wong and Stephen, who had retreated to let her work, snapped their heads up at that, rushing to the boy’s other side to see. Indeed, he seemed to be healing  _ inhumanly  _ fast. The deep and large wound was not nearly as deep as it had been not two minutes ago. 

“What the hell?” Stephen whispered, half in awe, as he leaned down, wanting to scrub his eyes to make sure he was seeing properly. He could see Peter’s cut flesh forming anew, slowly but surely joining the tissue. “That’s impossible.” 

“He’s enhanced,” Wong said, distantly noticing that he was stating the obvious. He looked down then, the red of the mask catching his eye. “You found Spiderman,” Wong said quietly as he picked the mask up.

Stephen straightened up, looking confused. “Am I supposed to know who that is?” 

Christine half gaped. “He’s New York’s superhero. Well, Queen’s superhero or vigilante, depending who you ask. He came to light a few months ago. He’s been seen working with Iron Man. It’s been all over the news since he appeared.” Her expression clearly told the wizard that he should have known who the damn kid was.

“Yes, well, I haven’t been watching the news since I went back to Kamar Taj to train,” Stephen said a little defensively. He disliked not knowing things. “So, what, inhuman healing is one of his powers?”  

“I don’t really know what his powers are, I mean he tries to stay down low as far as I know,” she said with a shrug. She looked back down at the wound. “It seems to be healing fine, but I think we need to-”

Peter chose that second to take up, taking a gasping breath as reality came crashing back. He jumped up, his senses warning him that there were three people near him. More importantly, he needed one second to know he was no longer in Queens. 

He jumped off the bed and somersaulted backwards, landing a little ways away from the trio. He looked down at his suit, not feeling it quite as snug as usual. “What the…” Peter’s eyes trailed up and then to his back, turning around like a puppy chasing his tail until he finally saw a piece of the back of his suit flapping to the side. “Oh my god…” he looked back at the three adults, looking angry. “Did you cut my suit?!” 

“We were trying to save your life,” Stephen noted drily with a perfectly raised eyebrow. “You were stabbed. I had to get you out of there and dress your wound.”

Peter gaped at him like a fish, finally saying “But I heal fast.” 

Stephen fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Yes, we noticed.”

Peter paced, clearly worried about something. “Anyway, who are you guys? What is this place? Oh I am Peter, by the way,” he said, his Aunt’s gentlemanly upbringing kicking in at the end.

“Dr. Strange,” Stephen said with a nod.

Before Stephen could say anything else Peter looked at him in surprise. “Oh, you’re using our made up names. Sorry, then my name is Spiderman. I should have started with that, sorry.”

Before Stephen could correct him, or say something they would all regret later, Wong grabbed him softly by the elbow and pulled him back slightly. He might not have been around Stephen for a while, but he was very adept at reading people’s moods, and he didn’t want the poor kid to deal with Stephen’s growing annoyance. “My name is Benjymen Wong. I am a master of the Mystic Arts. This here is Doctor Palmer, who came on our behest to help with your wound. And this over here is Doctor Strange - and no that’s not his made up name - he is the new Sorcerer Supreme.” 

“So, you’re like, wizards? That’s so cool! But then why did you have to cut my suit?” He complained pointing at his back. “Honestly, you’re all in so much trouble now.” 

Stephen tilted his head to the side, feeling a tinge of amusement which he fought to suppress. “Is that supposed to be a threat?” 

“What? No!” Peter spluttered. “I mean I am not going to do anything to you, but when Mr. Stark finds out-” Peter shook his head, not even finishing his sentence. He was so distraught he did not even realize he had mentioned his mentor in front of strangers.  “I need to get back to New York, as soon as possible.” 

“You are still in New York,” Stephen said, unsure as to where he was summoning so much patience from. 

“Okay, good, then I need to go now,” Peter said, looking around for his mask. “Have you seen my-”

“You’re not going anywhere,” Stephen said, his tone leaving no room for arguments. 

Peter balked. “I need to go! Karen sent a distress signal when they stabbed me. If I don’t go, I-”

“You were just stabbed,” Stephen said, as if talking to a five year old. “You are not moving from here until I can make sure the wound is fully closed and not infected, so I suggest you sit down.”

“You know it’s illegal to keep people against their will,” Peter said, running the numbers on how plausible it would be for him to escape two wizards and a doctor.

Stephen did not bother to answer, merely waving his hand in front of his face which sent Peter flying back to the bed. “Considering the rate at which you heal, I don’t expect the wound to take longer than an hour to heal. I need Christine to check how much blood you’ve lost, however, because you might need a transfusion.” 

“Dr. Strange, you don’t understand,” Peter pleaded. “Karen sent out a distress signal when I was stabbed.” 

“I do not know who Karen is and I do not care. Your safety is my current priority,” Stephen said easily, almost smiling at the young man’s pout. 

“She’s my AI,” Peter informed him, feeling as proud as always of all of Tony’s creations. “Anyway, the point is she sent Mr. Stark a distress signal, so I need to get to the compound, because he is probably freaking out and on his way here.” 

“This place is saturated with magic and has multiple defensive spells in place to keep us hidden. Magic and technology don’t work well together, so it is likely your tracker is not working at the moment. Moreover, even if it is, the spells I mentioned will make this place untraceable.” 

Peter looked horrified at that. “He’s going to kill me for disappearing for over an hour after getting hurt. Dr. Strange, you really need to-”

“Stark can wait for an hour until you’re healed,” Stephen said, not giving in an inch. “Besides, I need to talk to him anyway. I will portal you there once we have finished checking you over.”

Peter groaned and flopped down on the bed, yelping in pain once the wound hit the bed. Stephen rolled his eyes and rubbed his eyes as he prayed for patience.

* * *

To say that Tony was stressed would be the understatement of the year. He liked to think he was good under stress situations - re every near death experience he had face with unflinching eyes - but even he could admit to himself that he wasn’t handling this situation very well. Or, at all, really. 

But could he be blamed? Karen had sent him a distress signal telling him that Peter had been stabbed while Tony was in a meeting with stuffy investors he didn’t want to make time for. He had obviously ditched them right then and there, because he’d be damned if he let anything happen to Peter, but then Peter’s tracker had suddenly gone offline and Karen had lost all contact with the suit. 

Tony had gone to Peter’s last known location, but he had found absolutely no one - not Peter’s assailants, not the police, not anyone. It was as if Peter had never been there. But there were traces of the kid’s blood on the ground, and that had been more chilling to Tony than any blatant sign, because it meant that the kid -  _ his _ kid, because he was damn responsible for him - was injured, and likely taken. And his captor had made sure to not leave a single trace which Tony could follow. 

May was going to kill him. They had reached an - initially uneasy truce - once she had found out Peter was Spiderman, but she had taken a leap of faith and entrusted Peter to him. And now someone had taken their kid. 

Tony was going to kill them all. 

He had Friday searching on every single video footage available in New York city for Peter, but, after an hour, they still had absolutely nothing to go on. Not even a hint of the boy. 

Tony kept pacing around the room, distantly realizing that he was going to burn a hole in his shoe if he continued on like that. He didn’t give a fuck; all he wanted was to find Peter. 

“Sir, we have a breach in the compound. It seems to be a magic user. Mr. Parker is with him,” Friday suddenly piped up. 

Tony felt his heart drop to the floor at that. He was pretty sure he was going to be sick. With shaky hands he called upon the suit, his mind going a mile a minute. So Peter’s captor was a magic user. Considering his prior experience with magic, the dude was probably hellbent on destroying the earth and now that the Avengers were kaput, he had seized his chance. 

Flashes of Loki, New York, and Wanda’s red flaring magic cycled through his mind as the suit enclosed around him, forcing oxygen into his lungs. He had not realized he had stopped breathing.

“Get it together, Stark,” he whispered to himself, shaking his head as he took off towards the lawn, where Friday had indicated they were on his screen. 

Tony had wanted to go in slowly, assess the situation, but the minute he saw the suit ripped, and hints of Peter’s blood on the boy’s back, he saw red, and everything became a blur. He shot two beams at the asshole standing next to Peter, who let go of the kid to form a barrier around them.

Before Tony could launch and all-out assault the man screamed. “Are you insane, Stark!?” 

Just as Peter said. “Wait, no, Mr. Stark it is not-”

Tony did not let the kid finish. For all he knew this jackass had Peter under mind control. God, he wanted to grab Peter, blast this dude’s pretty face off, and then throw up. “Get away from the kid,  _ now.”  _

Stephen sneered, his hackles raised. “I do not work for you Stark, so I don’t take orders from you.” 

“And who exactly do you work for? A circus?” Tony bit back. “I mean, that’s what you do, no? Make balloon animals and scare little kids for the rest of their life?” 

“My job is to protect your reality, douchebag,” Stephen said drily, his hands twitching with the effort it took not to send Tony to the mirror dimension and leave him there. 

“Funny, because from where I see it, you kidnapped a fifteen year old kid, injured him, and trespassed on private property,” Tony said as he finally landed, leaving his hands up, ready to blast the man if he tried anything. 

Before Stephen could answer, Peter stepped up and shook his head. “Mr. Stark, he didn’t attack me. He-”

“Zip it, Peter, the adults are talking. Well, the adult and the comicon weirdo are talking,” Tony amended, his voice still venomous. 

“Oh are you an adult, Stark?” Stephen snorted. “And here I thought I was talking to an irascible three year old.”

“Tony-”

Tony lifted the faceplate, feeling a chill run down the spine at the feeling of being exposed. “Pete-”

Stephen rubbed at his temples as he said. “I am confused as to the relationship here. What is he, your ward?” 

“Peter I want you to walk over here, now,” Tony said, not taking his eyes off of Strange. “Friday start a full body scan.” 

Stephen rolled his eyes. “You’re welcome for me bringing your damn kid back home in one piece,” he spat out, taking out his sling ring.

“He disappeared for over an hour, and you want me to thank you?” Tony asked, looking angry again. 

“You’re fucking impossible,” Strange huffed out and turned around to make a portal, not bothering to look back. He had not come in the best mood, but he was quite sure he hadn’t been this angry in a long time. If he did not leave now, he would do something he would regret. Besides, this unsavory encounter had reminded him that he had never released Peter’s assailants from the mirror dimension.

He had to go deal with that lot, which conveniently put him very far away from one Tony Stark. 

“Mr. Stark, he really wasn’t the one that hurt me,” Peter said once the man left, shaking his head. He had expected the situation to be bad, considering how overprotective Tony had turned after the vulture, but he had not expected it to go that bad. 

He just hoped Dr. Strange wouldn’t hate them both forever. 

* * *

“So, how did your meeting with Stark go?” Wong asked as he entered Stephen’s study in the sanctum, where he had retreated after the eventful afternoon he had had. 

Stephen looked up from his book, his eyes flashing with fury. “He is an arrogant, egotistical, impulsive, sarcastic man-child, and he’s lucky I have enough restraint or he would be locked in the mirror dimension falling endlessly for a week.” 

“So not well,” Wong summarized calmly. “Did you talk to him at all about the matters the council tasked you?” 

“We never talked, because he made idiotic assumptions from the minute I stepped foot on his damn compound. And, after his little childish display, I don’t think I want to talk to him. He’s not going to be useful to us.”

Wong raised an unimpressed brow. “You are being too harsh, Stephen. And you are underestimating his usefulness.”

“Why don’t you go and meet him then, oh you paragon of patience,” Stephen bit out. 

“I don’t need to. I have already met you,” Wong deadpanned mercilessly, which earned him a sharp glare from Stephen. “You should consider the fact that he was under heavy stress when he met you, and also likely thought you a threat. More importantly, you above all should understand the importance of looking past masks, considering how many you employ on a daily basis.” 

Stephen shifted uncomfortably on his seat, Wong’s words striking a cord. “You were not there.” 

“No, I was not. I am not telling you to be his best friend. I am telling you to get your head out of your ass and go talk to him,” Wong clarified. “The Ancient one knew much about Stark through visions, and always respected him a great deal. So I suggest you see past the mask. He is, after all, iron man. There must be some redeemable qualities.”

Wong stood up and left then, leaving Stephen dumbstruck to his chair. He was exhausted, and still more than a little peeved, but he could not deny the fact that that last tidbit of information had re-sparked his interest in sitting down and having a chat with the infamous Tony Stark.

He would have to try again. He just hoped they both made it out of it without hurling the other across a window. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, they get off to a rocky start, but they will soon be seeing eye to eye. Also something I thought I should clarify - Pepper and Tony are not together in this fic. They do not get back together after CACW for the purpose of this story.


	3. Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "First impressions are important, but everyone deserves a second chance"

“Stephen-”

“No.”

Wong sighed, and then tried again. “Stephen-”

The man closed the book he had been quietly reading in the library and looked up pointedly at Wong. “ _No.”_

 _“_ You will have to speak with him at some point, Stephen. That’s your job. Delaying it is irresponsible and a waste of time,” Wong tutted, leveling a hard glance at Strange.

The man closed his eyes in an effort not to roll them. “I am aware I have yet to speak with Stark, Wong. I, unlike him, am not a child. I _will_ speak to him just not… now,” Stephen ended lamely.

Wong only had to give him his most judgemental look for the man to get up, looking annoyed. “My God, I just want to give him - and me - enough time to calm down! I went to see him yesterday, and, quite frankly, if he's as much of an asshole next time we talk, I might just send him into another dimension and _leave him there_.”

“You're too dramatic,” Wing pointed out in a bored tone. “If you haven't spoken to him by Monday, I _will_ get the council on your ass,” the older master threatened.

Stephen shot him a withering look. “With friends like you why do I bother?” He muttered under his breath as he stood up and left the book on the table, no longer feeling like reading.

He walked into the kitchen, intent on not letting Wong ruin the rest of his day. He set about making tea and something quick to eat, but his mind was elsewhere. A tiny part of him was still curious about this Spiderman kid - and worried too. The injury he had received had been substantial but Christine had assured him he was healed.

He was pretty sure the kid was fine, but not being able to check - as he was sure he likely would never see the kid again if Stark had anything to say about it - made him a bit anxious.

He grumbled underneath his breath, turning off the stove after a few minutes. Wong was right; it was better to get it over with. Delaying it until after the weekend would mean having to deal with Wong all weekend long and it would also give him more time to stew in his anger.

“Fucking Stark,” he huffed out as he opened a portal to the compound, part of him already regretting his decision.

* * *

“Sir, the Wizard is back,” FRIDAY chirped up, making both the genius and his protège look up from where they had been hunched over the iron Man armour.    

Peter's eyes widened both with excitement and anxiety. He reached over to grab Tony’s wrist, his eyes pleading. He had already explained to the man exactly what had  happened in Queens. He had repeated over and over that Dr. Strange had only been there to help him. However, by now he knew Tony and, after what had happened with the Vulture, the man refused to let Peter out of his sight. That also meant anyone he deemed as a threat would get to see the more vicious side of Tony.

“Mr. Stark, please don't start a fight. He _really_ wasn't trying to make you worry. He saved my life and then made sure a Doctor checked me over. He’s nice, I promise.”

Tony grunted in acknowledgement but didn't say anything. He had gone over his encounter with Strange a few times in his mind already, and he could admit, to himself, that perhaps he had been a little too harsh and a little quick to judge. And maybe he was even willing to admit he had acted like a douchebag, but that did not mean he was anymore comfortable seeing Peter near the Wizard today than he was yesterday.   

“I am assuming he wants to talk to me?” Tony asked, getting up with little difficulty. His eyes narrowed as Peter stood up, clearly intent on following him. “Sit your ass back down, Parker, you’re not going anywhere. Fry, tell the wizard to wait for me in the conference room.”

“Mr. Stark you have to let me go with you,” Peter complained. He did not trust the man to not start a fistfight with the doctor.

“I have to do no such thing. Who’s the adult here?” Tony reminded him, not even looking back at Peter. He grabbed his repulsor watch, and then turned back to look at Peter. “Look, I am not going to fight this dude, so don’t get your knickers in a twist. I am not even wearing my armor, see? Perfectly innocent meeting.”

“That’s because you have like three armors on call, and your repulsor on your wrist,” Peter grumbled, but did not fight Tony, instead sitting back down near the bench to do some homework while he waited.

Tony smirked, but did not contradict Peter, instead walking out the room and locking the door behind him. “Make sure he does not come looking for us, Fry,” Tony instructed.  

“Of course, sir. Dr. Strange is waiting for you in the conference room now.”

“I thought we had agreed to call him the wizard,” Tony teased her as he tried to distract himself from the fact that he was willingly walking into a room with a magic user.

He took out his red-tinted sunglasses and put them on right before walking into the room. Both men stiffened as they stared at one another, the events of the day prior still fresh on their mind.

Tony sighed. “Alright, let’s get this out of this way: I’ll start. I want to apologize. I… wasn’t thinking clearly. All I knew was that Peter was hurt, and you were the first person I could blow up on. It’s doesn’t excuse me being a douche to you, so yeah, my bad. Won’t happen again,” Tony said a bit tensely, but no less honestly.

Stephen fought not to gape. This was not what he had expected would happen when he had finally decided to come here. His apology was a bit like a slap to the face - a bit of a wake up call. Clearly, he didn’t know everything there was to know about Stark. “I… um… yes,” _wow, way to go Stephen. “_ I mean… it’s…ah, fine.” He cleared his throat. “Thank you for apologizing.

Tony held back a smile at the man’s awkwardness and nodded instead, coming to sit on the opposite end of the table to give them both space. “Don’t get me wrong, I still don’t like you - or your magic.”

Stephen couldn’t help but smirk, feeling more comfortable now that the first jab was out. “That’s fine. I don’t particularly like you either.”

Tony answered his smirk with a razor sharp of his own. “Good. Glad we’re on the same page.”

Stephen did not answer immediately, as he reassessed what he knew. Tony Stark had very sharp edges, that much was obvious. He was full of layers, protecting the inside from those daring to look at him, but the man’s apology had shed light into something Stephen hadn’t seen before; he cared deeply about the boy. Underneath all the cold, there was something soft within the man, something that Peter brought out and it clearly terrified him. It reminded Stephen of the parents he had dealt with whenever they brought their kids to him to be operated on.

“Right, well, I am here because my order has tasked me with talking to you,” Stephen started.

“Well you do look like the cult type,” Tony snarked, almost unconsciously.

Strange rolled his eyes. “The order of sorcerers of earth is not a cult,” he said dryly. “We are tasked with protecting earth from all mystical and inter-dimensional attacks, and we have done so - in secret - for centuries.”

Tony hummed, sitting back slightly. “And why exactly do you want to talk to me? I am not into all that magic juju.”

“I am not here to talk to you about magic, I am here to talk to you about the Avengers,” Stephen corrected, his light blue eyes narrowing on Tony’s warm chocolate ones.

Tony sighed. So this was going to turn into another anti-accord afternoon. He was up to the brim with the whole bullshit, but he couldn’t exactly turn people away. If they wanted to talk to him about the damn Accords, then it was his job to listen as the new leader of the Avengers - or what little was left of them. “Right, let’s get this over with. What are your complaints about the accords?”

Stephen was once again surprised both by the man’s words, and his sudden demeanor; he looked _exhausted. “_ I am not really here to talk to you about them. I am here to talk to you about the magic wielder and the stonekeeper.”

Tony frowned, suddenly very thrown off. “I have no idea who you’re talking about,” he said honestly.

Stephen wanted to scream. “Would you mind coming with me? It will be easier to explain at the Sancto Santorum.”

Tony froze up immediately, every alarm in his body going off. Going with the  _magical wizard_ to an unidentified place where he would have zero control over the environment. Over his dead body. “Yeah, nope. I am sorry, you don’t seem like a bad dude, but I don’t trust you.”

Stephen, much to Tony’s surprise, only nodded, not an ounce of judgement in his eyes. “The sorcerers of Kamar-Taj felt a magic user amongst the Avengers. We would have generally reached out before, but there was a large inter-dimensional threat we were dealing with so we haven’t had time to turn to matters of our present physical earth.”

“The only magic user we had is Wanda,” Tony said slowly. “She’s gone though. She left with Rogers and company.”

Stephen grimaced. “I was hoping you could help me find her. Her energy, or at least the traces of her energy, show that her powers are uncontrolled and her energy signature is sinister at best. She needs to either be contained or be taught how to properly and safely use her powers, but my order cannot leave her to roam as she is right now.”  

Tony tried his hardest to breathe in and out slowly. He tried to keep his sudden panic down; the last thing he wanted was for the Wizard to see him at his weakest. But, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't fight back the images assaulting his senses. He couldn't ignore the irrational fear every time he thought of Wanda. 

She had been admitted to the Avengers without his permission - as no one had even bothered consulting him. He had, of course, then decided to retire and offer his services only in the case of a world ending threat, but he had been pulled back in regardless. He had had to fight her at the airport. He had had to deal with her magic when she had been his enemy. And now he had to deal with her - yet again - because of her magic. 

He _really_ hated magic.

“I don't know where she is. I haven't really… last I heard they were all in Wakanda. I haven't spoken with T’Challa about it, but from the recon I made FRIDAY do, they come and go. If you want to find her, he might be able to help you,” Tony said finally, when he was sure his voice wouldn't show his internal freakout.

Stephen raised a brow. “Wasn't he on your side? Why is he offering them sanctuary?”

Tony smiled sourly. “Well he hasn't actually formally joined the team, and he wasn't fighting with me or for me, that much I can assure you.”

Stephen nodded, wisely deciding against poking that sleeping bear. “And the stonekeeper?”

“I still don’t know what that is, Doc,”Tony said, his features easing  a little bit.”

Stephen let out an annoyed sound. “The one that keeps the mind stone. I believe they told me you helped create him. He walks with a stone in the middle of his forehead - _surely_ you know what I’m talking about.”

“You mean Vision? Yeah, he doesn't go by stonekeeper. How the hell was I supposed to make that connection?” Tony grumbled, shooting Stephen a glare. “What about him? What do you want with the stone?”

Stephen rubbed his eyes. “Tony that’s not a regular stone. That’s an infinity stone.”

Tony looked slightly disgruntled. “Alright, let’s just… why don't you back it up a step. I don’t know what the infinity stones _are_. So why don’t you start there.”

Stephen sighed, leaning back against his seat. “Well we’re going to be here a while then.”

“Well, I’ve got all afternoon," Tony said, even though he knew Peter was waiting for him, and would likely not manage to wait for much longer. That kid had way too much energy, and was like a puppy, following Tony around everywhere every time he came to visit. "I can even offer you tea if you want. You look like the tea and yoga type.”

Stephen’s eyes flashed with a challenge. “I prefer coffee actually.”

“A man after my own heart then,” Tony sparred back easily, keeping his eyes on Stephen as he said “Fri, get the man some coffee please.”

“Of course, sir.”

“Alright, now that that is out of the way - start talking Harry Potter.”

Stephen did not comment on the silly nickname, knowing that the more he complained, the more he would fuel Tony. “When the universe came to be, six power stones came to be. There’s soul, mind, reality, space, time and power. Each one holds unimaginable power. And, when harnessed all together… they could destroy the entirety of the universe. Vision holds one of these stones - the mind stone - which granted you power to bring him to life. I, as the head of my order, hold another,” he revealed, feeling slightly uncomfortable to do so. He stood up and started walking towards were Tony was sitting. He motioned with his hands, activating the eye of Agamotto to revel the stone. “I hold the time stone.”

They were interrupted by a young woman who came in then, bringing with her a tray with two empty cups as well as a pot of coffee and a small carafe of milk. She greeted the two men meekly, leaving the tray near Tony, as Stephen was now standing right next to the man.

Tony motioned with his head towards the tray, as he passed a cup to Stephen to make his coffee as he pleased. He watched the man as he filled his cup two thirds of the way before filling the rest with milk. He added a spoonful of sugar and began mixing it, his eyes turning back to observe Tony.

The man seemed to be trying to process the horrifying information he had just given him. He licked his lips, looking a little pale as he looked up at the sorcerer. “So you’re telling me that there’s two universe-destroying stones on Earth right now?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Stephen confirmed, his expression as grim as Tony’s. He took a sip of his coffee, mostly to stall for time.“The time stone has been on earth for centuries. Hence why my order took it upon itself to protect this stone. However, now that there’s two of them, we need to ramp up defences as there’s multiple beings that will likely want them. I need to speak to the stonekeeper and make him understand just what he is holding.”  

Tony stood up abruptly then, and walked away from Stephen and towards the floor to ceiling windows that graced the right side of the conference room. He looked out onto the lusciously green lawn, his eyes stormy - the opposite of the sunny day outside.  

He had been right this _entire time_. Earth wasn’t safe. Earth wasn’t safe at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for taking so long in updating. Life is super hectic + I am working on multiple fics at a time, but I am hoping you won't have to wait as much for the next chapter. Also, I know it's a bit slow right now, but the setup is important ;)


	4. And so it begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”   
> ― Benjamin Franklin

“Tony?” Strange asked quietly after a few minutes of the genius looking out the window with dead eyes. “Are you alright?”

“Always,” he replied immediately, finally snapping his eyes away from the window. “Right, so we have two stones and some very bad dickholes will be coming to look for it, got that right?”

“We don’t know who or when, which makes it all the more difficult to prepare,” Stephen explained, taking one step closer to Tony. 

Tony paced for a few seconds from side to side, before saying “look, if these stones are powerful enough to destroy the universe, then why don’t we chug this one,” he said pointing towards Stephen’s chest. “Down the garbage disposal?” 

Stephen clenched his jaw. “No can do,” he said after a few seconds, reminding himself that thus far Tony had proven to be more rational than he had initially given the man credit for. “Look, me and my order swore an oath to protect the Time Stone with our lives.” 

“And I swore off dairy,” Tony quipped back immediately, taking one step closer to Strange. “But then Ben & Jerry’s named a flavor after me, so-”

“Stark Raving Hazelnuts,” Stephen acknowledge before thinking it through. 

If Tony was surprised that the wizard knew it, he did not show it, instead saying “It’s not bad-” 

“It’s a bit chalky,” Stephen countered, with a hint of humour in his eyes. Why he felt such a strong need to argue with Tony, to keep him on his toes, to push his buttons, he had no idea. All he knew was that, despite his initial distaste, he was starting to enjoy the back and forth verbal spar. 

Tony snorted. “What’s your plan, then, Harry Potter? I have already faced one alien invasion. I have seen-” Tony stopped himself as flashes of the vastness of the chitauri army flooded his memories. He could still remember the bone chilling fear he had felt when he had realized that there were so many of them he could not see the last line of fighters.

He remembered too Steven’s oh so charming “together” bullshit, which had proven to be nothing but empty lies. In the end Tony would have to face this threat alone. 

Stephen tilted his head slightly to the side as his internal alarms began blaring. 

“Fry, tell Vision to get his ass in here,” Tony finally said as he clenched and unclenched his hands hard enough to bruise. He did not look back at Stephen, as he tried to get his temper in check. Ever since the incident with the accords, he had become too volatile for his own taste.

“You called, sir?” Vision said after a minute, as he walked through one of the walls, still as uncaring about doors as usual.

Tony looked back at the android and quirked his lips. “Yes, I did. Vision, meet Stephen Strange - he’s a wizard from a super secret organization and is here to make our lives infinitely more complicated.”

Stephen rolled his eyes and walked towards Vision, offering his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” 

Vision felt surprised by the sheer politeness and calmness exuding out of the man. In general - and especially after the fight over the accords - he elicited two type of reactions out of people: fear or anger. Strange, however, seemed to be completely comfortable with shaking his hand and conversing with him.

“The pleasure is mine Mr. Strange.” 

“Doctor,” Stephen corrected out of habit. 

Tony raised a brow “Are you seriously telling me you make people call you Doctor Strange?” 

Stephen fought against the urge to throw something at Tony. “I was a  _ very _ successful surgeon before I started practicing magic, Mr. Stark.”

“ _ Doctor  _ Stark,” Tony mocked with a gleam in his eyes. “I have seven PhDs, I'll have you know.”

Stephen pinched his nose. “Stark must you really-”

“Calm down, Merlin, I appreciate your medical degree,” Tony said with a wink. “Though to be fair, I don't see how you go from a man of science to a wacko magician.”

Before Stephen could answer, Vision cleared his throat, looking between the two men with a raised brow. He hadn't seen Tony this… alive since the accords. Well, no that wasn't exactly true; he was at his most alive when around Peter. 

The boy seemed to be the only thing keeping Tony tied with the living world, the only thing giving him hope after everything that had happened with his former teammates, with Rhodey's legs, and with Pepper. 

It was a nice change, but, nonetheless, the banter was not productive as Vision still had no idea why the two had called him. Considering he had never met Stephen before, he was assuming this had not been a social call. 

“Right,” Tony said taking a step back. “your time to shine, weird sister.” 

“Did you seriously just make a bad shakespeare reference?” Stephen said as he turned to look at Tony with unbelieving eyes. 

“First of  all it was not a bad reference. If the shoe fits-”

“Mr. Stark, I don’t think-” Vision began again, this time sounding more amused.

“Mr. Stark, I forgot to let you know that-” Peter suddenly skidded to a halt when he came face to face with the three men. He blushed slightly, but looked genuinely excited to see the sorcerer again. “Dr. Strange! Friday told us you were here, but Mr. Stark didn’t let me come say hello earlier. I am so glad you’re still here, and you aren’t fighting! Anyway I-”

“Are you hearing things, because I am sure  _ I  _ am hearing things,” Tony said as he tilted his head and narrowed his eyes while looking at Vision. “I mean I must be, because there is  _ no way  _ Peter just walked into the room when I specifically told him he was not allowed to do that. He isn’t one to disobey direct orders, especially when he knows I can sic his aunt on him.” 

Peter gaped as his eyes widened comically. “PleasedonttellMayI-”

Tony finally looked at him than raising two fingers to his lips to indicate he wanted silence from the boy. “This is where you zip it, kid” Tony said, half annoyed.

“But Ned is here!” Peter whined as he stepped closer to Tony. “I wasn’t trying to sneak into your super dangerous meeting. I just forgot to mention that Ned was coming over today to work on a project with me. I mean that’s why I am here this weekend in the first place. I was supposed to ask May but then-”

“Peter, where are we supposed to - oh my god that’s Tony Stark in the flesh,” Ned wheezed out as he dropped his laptop. Peter was thankfully fast enough to web it up before it could smash against the floor. 

Tony looked between Peter and Ned for a second, clearly surprised and looking like he wasn’t ready to stop arguing, before he finally rounded in on Ned and offered the boy his hand. “Mr. Leeds, is it? I have heard quite a lot about you from Peter.”

“Oh my god, Iron Man knows who I am,” Ned breathed out far too loudly, his eyes shining with excitement. 

Tony couldn’t help but soften his smile. “Alright, why don’t you two boys head to the kitchen for a snack and wait for me. I will help you finish whatever project you have to do once I am done meeting with the Wizard over here.” 

Ned’s eyes widened even further at that and he turned to look at Stephen, who was leaning against the conference room table at this point. “You’re a wizard? Like a real life wizard?” He asked in a high pitched tone. 

“I prefer the term sorcerer,” he said slightly uncomfortable, glaring daggers at Tony for having switched the attention to Stephen. 

“Don’t worry, Mr. Leeds, he’s just extremely anally retentive. You can call him whatever you want now off you go,” Tony said as he grabbed Peter by an elbow and gently walked him out of the room.

“Tony I am so sorry, I-”

Tony squeezed Peter’s shoulder and gave him a small, indulgent smile. “It’s fine, kiddo. I overreacted. Now, go have some food with Ned. I will call your aunt after I am done here to let her know you are both safe, okay? I might even convince her to let you both stay over.” 

Peter grinned like Christmas had come early before nodding and skipping out of the room, Ned hot on his heels. 

As soon as they were gone Tony’s cheery disposition disappeared and the worry that had been forming ever since Stephen mentioned the infinity stones reemerged with a vengeance. Seeing Peter, sweet and innocent Peter, had somehow made everything worse, because it had reminded Tony just how much he still had left to lose. 

“Sorry about that. You know kids, never let you work in peace,” Tony snarked, hiding himself in his public persona as everything turned a little too overwhelming for him. He walked over to his coffee, forcing his hand to still before he picked up the cup. His eyes gave away none of his fear, as cold detachment bordering on disdain covered his eyes like a blanket of snow.  

It was too late to hide from Stephen, however, as that short interaction with the two teenagers had given him more insight into Tony than anything prior; Wong had been right. Tony wasn’t just another run of the mill asshole with too much money - like Stephen had been once upon a time. No, Tony Stark  _ cared _ ; in fact, he cared too much, and it was clear he cared about Peter the most. He wasn’t good with emotions - Stephen could relate to that - but there was more to him than met the eye, that much was clear.

“Shall we get back to the business at hand?” Stephen said casually, offering Tony a way out of his building emotions. 

The man nodded and sat back down at the head of the table. The two men followed his example, sitting to his right and to his left. 

“I have been meaning to speak to you for a while Vision,” Stephen started, with a polite smile. “I am sorry it has taken my order this long to contact you, considering the importance of the stone you hold, but, as they say, better late than never.” 

Vision tilted his head. “Which order would that be, Doctor?” 

“The order of sorcerers of earth. We are… similar to the Avengers, except we do not concentrate on physical threats. We fight interdimensional, magical threats, and we do so in complete secret.”

Vision nodded as he processes this new information. “So you are a magic user,” he stated, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Are you a messenger for your organization?”

“Hmmm, not exactly. I am the Sorcerer Supreme-”

“Meaning you are the most powerful one in your order,” Vision asked, without letting the other man finish. 

“Yes,” Stephen confirmed. “My…. well it is difficult to explain, but I have been selected to lead the organization, which grants me a significant amount of power over the magical realm here on earth, but that’s not really why I came to talk to you. I am here to speak to you about the mind stone,” Stephen said as he pointed towards Vision’s forehead. 

If Vision was surprised, he did not show it. “I am afraid we still don’t know much about it.” 

“You don’t, but I do,” Stephen said with a smirk. “That stone you wield is known as the mind stone. It is one of the six singularities of the universe. It holds an incredible amount of power, and, when combined with its sisters, it can destroy the universe as we know it.”

“You know hearing it a second time really doesn’t help,” Tony mused aloud as he rubbed his forehead. “The point is, Viz, we gotta be careful with it, because people are going to come looking for it soon enough.”

“Given that it is encrusted within you, your life is in danger,” Stephen explained. “That is why I have come to offer you two things; first, you must be trained on how to use it and how to protect. We have the means to teach you. We have the means to teach you. Second, we offer you sanctuary, should an enemy ever come for the stone. It cannot fall on the wrong hands, that is imperative” 

“I don’t feel comfortable putting you or your order in harm's way, but I will not refuse training,” Vision said politely. “I have been wanting to find out how the stone works for quiet some time now.” 

Stephen nodded and stood up, taking out his sling ring as he did so. He put it on his hand and moved his hand in slow motions, not taking much notice of the intermittent trembling that had plagued him ever since his accident. The portal opened a few seconds later, revealing the open grounds of Kamar Taj. 

“This portal will lead you to our training grounds. The masters there are expecting you. I will send along a friend of mine called Wong, he has a particularly vast knowledge of the mind stone, so he will be the most equipped to help you.” 

Tony looked suspiciously at the portal. “Is that the only way to get there?” 

Stephen raised a brow. “No it is not, but the other way would take days. Besides, this is a  _ safe  _ method,” he assured the two men.

“Yeah well, sorry bud, but I don’t trust you that much.” Tony turned to Vision. “I can get you there with a jet, if you don’t want to go through the magic portal.”

Vision smiled, touched by Tony’s kindness. He knew how deeply traumatized the man was when it came to magic so, for him to offer Vision a way out despite everything Vision had done, meant a lot to the android. He knew the man did not blame him for Rhodey’s legs - Tony blamed himself - but Vision knew better. He had been the one to disable Rhodey’s suit because he had been unwilling to let go of Wanda. His heartsick mistake had cost him his teammate. 

And in the end, Wanda had left anyway. 

“I will take the portal, Mr. Stark,” Vision said, not daring to touch the man as he didn’t feel worthy. “But thank you for the offer.” 

Stephen stepped to the side and watched Vision calmly make his way through. He closed the portal behind the Android and turned to look at Stark again. “Right, well that was the most pressing issue. I know you told the kids you were going to help them so if you want-”

Tony raised a hand to stop Stephen. “Hermione, the world is at stake here. I am sure they can cope with waiting a little bit longer. I still have questions for you.” 

Stephen hid a smirk as he sat back down. At least Tony had his priorities straight. “I will answer any questions to the best of my abilities.” 

“Good,” Tony said as he folded his hands in front of him and narrowed his eyes. “Vision has been with us for two years now. Why is it that we are just finding out about the stones now? Clearly you’ve had this knowledge for quite some time.” 

“Around the time Vision was created, we were dealing with a massive interdimensional threat that could have destroyed earth in the blink of an eye. We lost many of our own then, and we were too busy to deal with Vision. He wasn’t a concern at the time; we had more present dangers to attend to. After that, I went into training, and we began to rebuild. This is the first time we have had enough time to concentrate on matters outside of our own order.” 

Tony did not seem truly pleased with the answer, but he allowed it. “We need a plan, Strange. We don’t know how much time we have left before some maniac alien comes barging into earth. And, now, with the avengers gone, earth is easy prey.”

Stephen nodded. “I suggest you start recruiting again,” Stephen told him seriously. 

Tony glanced at him with surprise. “You want  _ me  _ to find a new team? Did you not hear how the last one ended up?” 

“You did not recruit the last team, Tony. You also did not lead it,” Stephen pointed out, looking bored. “You are the last remaining Avenger, and the earth needs  _ you.  _ I will help however I can, but I work best from the shadows.” 

Tony stood up and walked back to the window, his mind going a mile a minute. He would need to get Rhodey back on his feet as soon as possible. He couldn't do this without his best friend. He would have to restart the iron legion project. He would have to speak to T'Challa, and get that jackass on board. He would have to scourge the earth for any enhanced human willing to fight. He would have to find a way to get some information from outer space. 

“I will start making some calls.” Tony groaned. “I am going to need a suit upgrade. Actually, several suit upgrades.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it has been forever since i updated, but life has been super busy. I should have more time in 2019 though so expect faster updates! 
> 
> Also happy new year's eve everyone!


	5. Wakanda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Collaboration is like carbonation for fresh ideas. Working together bubbles up ideas you would not have come up with solo, which gets you further faster."  
> \- Caroline Ghosn

Tony sat in his workshop, wheeling himself around in circles with a hologram that conveniently followed him as he moved. He had an electronic pen pressed against his lips , which he kept moving back and forth as he thought.

He had no idea how long he had been in the workshop, but he was pretty sure it had been a good long while, because when he had come in the sun had barely been up and now everything was pitch black outside again. Also there was a sandwich sitting on the table to his left, which he himself had not gotten up to make, which meant either Peter, Vision or Rhodey had come in at some point to leave that for him.

He really hoped it had been Peter or Vision, because the other option meant he was going to get yelled at once he did emerge out of his workshop. To be fair, one day was mild compared to the marathons he had pushed himself through before when inventing new armors or equipment. And, really, considering their new reality, he could not be blamed for overworking. 

Stephen's dire warnings had sent Tony’s brain into overdrive.  He had straightened a few SI affairs the day before once Stephen had left the compound, he had driven Peter home to his aunt, and he had spoken with Rhodey about the stones. His friend had known immediately what this meant; Tony was going to go into a working frenzy and there was nothing that could stop him, not until he was at least somewhat sure he could protect earth.

This external threat had been tormenting Tony for years now. He had known as far back as New York that something was not quite right - that they were no longer safe. He had seen the vast chitauri army, had seen what they were capable of; that had not looked like a one time deal. Humans were not the only ones out there, and, since earth had fought off one invasion, Tony knew it was only a matter of time before a different race came sniffing for blood.

He had said as much to his former team, but no one had listened. And due to that fact they were now all fucked because earth was sorely unprotected with only Tony, Rhodey, Vision - and potentially Stephen - to figure out how the fuck to keep the infinity stones safe.

Tony rubbed the bridge of his nose, struggling to keep a lid on his bubbling rage. He was sure that, if Rogers were to show his face right about now, Tony would make sure to break his perfect jaw on sight. He had warned the man that dividing the avengers was not a good idea. He had warned him that something bigger than them was coming. And what had Rogers done? The Star-Spangled, goodie two shoes, Howard-approved boy had lied to Tony for two fucking years, and had put his personal wants and needs above everything else which had led to Germany and then Siberia.

The whole situation was so ironic it was almost funny.

Tony sighed, looking once again towards the new plans for his suit. Siberia, trauma and betrayal aside, had been one hell of a lesson. He needed to make a better suit. It needed to be faster, stronger, unbreakable and - more importantly - he needed more fire power. It didn't matter what alien threat came next; his suit wouldn't cut it as it was.

Steve had been able to break his arc reactor, which only a year ago would have killed Tony on impact. And, while he didn't need it to survive anymore, his suit still needed it to function. More importantly, he would not be as effective in battle if he had to worry about his arc reactor - a piece which was already a trigger for him. He needed to find a way to make the reactor stronger, and the suit less reliable on just the energy provided by the reactor. Similarly, Steve had been able to break his mask because the suit was designed so that the different pieces could detach and attach easily. He needed to make a suit that didn't have that problem - a suit that could come on and off without weak, latching points.

Tony froze, as realization dawned on him; he needed a liquid armor that would come on and retreat on command. He had begun developing nanotech a few months back, but the question was how to turn that into a full fledge armor. Not only that, but, realistically thinking, his body had gone through too much wear and tear in the past ten years to handle much more. Obie, New York, Ultron, Killian and Rogers had left behind tremendous damage on his chest, ribcage, solar plexus, and his right arm.

And they had likely been nothing compared to what was coming.

He needed to be better - he needed  _ his body _ to be better, and fast.

“Fry, babe, do we still have Pepper's tests from when she had the extremis strand inside her?” Tony asked tentatively, chewing on the inside of his lip.

“Yes, sir,” She said as she pulled up all the records on the holographic screen for Tony to peruse.

“Pull up our early nanotech testing as well, Fry,” Tony said as he began scribbling all over the screen. “Oh and prepare the lab so we can start running new tests - off the record,” Tony warned. The last thing he needed was anyone finding out about what he was planning to do.

“Sir, King T'Challa is on the line, shall I put him through?”

Tony's pen hovered over the screen for a few seconds as he considered his choices. He hated stopping when he had so much work to do, but T'Challa was part of his work in a way. After all, he had promised Strange that he would start recruiting. He had no leads get, which made T'Challa the best candidate at the moment.

“Yes, put him through,” Tony finally agreed, leaning back in his chair.

“Mr. Stark, thank you for taking my call,” T'Challa began amicably. “I was hoping we could speak about the changes to the accords you are planning to propose.”

“Sure, we can talk about those, but, honestly, I have something a lot more pressing to talk to you about,” Tony said easily.

“Oh?” T'Challa said neutrally, not giving away anything.

“Is this a secure line, your Majesty? Because it is not something I would like curious third parties listening into,” Tony said sweetly, but the undercurrent of an order was unmistakable.

“Yes, it is,” T’challa said sounding a bit clipped. “What can I do for you, Mr. Stark?”

“Oh I would like you to own up to giving sanctuary to the rogue avengers that’s what you could do for me,” Tony snarked, unable to keep it in. “But this isn’t about what you can do for me. This is about a threat to earth I have been made aware of.”

T’Challa did not comment on the fact that Tony knew where Rogers and his team were. It would have been an insult to the man’s intelligence to assume otherwise. He was hoping to be physically present to discuss that particularly thorny issue, especially considering what he had witnessed in Siberia. “What threat do you speak of, Mr. Stark?”

“Tell me, your pantherness, have you ever heard of the infinity stones?”

“I cannot say that I have,” T’Challa admitted as he got up from his chair to face the window that had a view towards the palace’s main garden.

“Well there’s six of them, and, to make a really long story short, when their powers are combined, they can wipe out the entire universe,” Tony smirked as he was met with absolute silence. “There are, conveniently enough, two of them on earth, which makes our planet the main target for crazy alien psychopaths wanting to get the whole collection.”

T'Challa leaned forward, worry itched onto every inch of his face. “Wait, stop, I need a more detailed explanation, Mr. Stark. Have you identified a specific threat?”

“No, I have not,” Tony admitted. “But we know someone out there wants them, and they have to be pretty damn powerful to be able to wield them. Do you remember the invasion of New York, Your Majesty? That was nothing compared to what could be coming.”

“But this is all still hypothetical information,” T'Challa argued, trying to find a silver lining.

“Sure it's hypothetical until they get to Earth and we have no way of protecting it,” Tony half growled. “Look, T'Challa, I don't have time to argue semantics right now. The point is, earth needs more protection than it currently has, and you can either help or stay out of it - so we can begin by defining whether you are going to become an Avenger or not.”

T'Challa was slightly taken aback by Tony's ultimatum, but it was hard to miss the fear and distress underneath the angry façade. T'Challa had not been given all the facts, that was certain, but Tony's words struck a chord deep inside him. He could either be part of the solution or add to the problem, and he had promised himself he wouldn't stay hiding in the shadows anymore.

“I think you and I need to meet in person, Mr. Stark, so we can properly discuss this,” he said a little too formally, as he did when he was stressed.

“When will you next be in New York?” Tony asked as he rubbed his forehead, feeling the telltale signs of an oncoming migraine.

“I would rather we meet here in Wakanda. It will be… safer, and I can also show you the technology I can offer to assist you.”

Tony leaned forward on his seat, his look darkening. “If I agree to meet in your country, I want your assurance that Rogers and company won’t be at least within a mile of wherever we meet.”

“Of course,” T'Challa was quick to agree. “Oh and, Mr. Stark, please bring Mr. Rhodes with you. I… we can help him with regain movement in his legs.”

Tony's mouth went dry at that and his eyes bulged out of his eyes. He did not say anything, a part of him unwilling to believe such a wonderful thing. He had looked for the very best doctors for Rhodey; they had all told them the same thing. There was no solution for paralysis. There was nothing Tony could do, no matter how much money or hours he threw at it. Rhodey, of course, did not blame him for it, but the guilt kept Tony up at night more often than not.

“Mr. Stark?”

“Send us the coordinates and a good time for us to meet,” Tony breathed out after a minute. “We'll be there to meet you.”

“Of course. We look forward to having you both,” T'Challa said gently, feeling empathy for the man and his best friend's plight.

He had spent little time with Tony Stark, but he was nothing if not observant. T'Challa knew how much the man had worked to try to keep the peace. He knew of the man’s projects in clean energy and his aid relief foundations for both superhero related matters and just day to day life. Tony Stark was a walking example of what Nakia wanted to accomplish; he had stepped up and taken action. He had protected and helped those less capable than him, and had used his considerable resources. He had also protected his creations and had kept his knowledge from falling into the wrong hands.

All in all, T’Challa was very curious to get to know Stark better, if only because, in a way, he wanted to understand the man’s motivations. What sparked him to be this way? Was it personal tragedy, or was it selflessness? T’Challa wasn’t sure. What he was sure of, however, was that he would have to introduce the man to Nakia sooner or later.

* * *

Rhodey watched as Tony rapidly beat his foot against the floor of the jet while he flew them to Wakanda. It was the only body part Tony was allowing himself to move to release at least some of the anxious energy building inside of him. This was likely both the most dreaded and most anticipated trip he had taken in his life. Ever since Howard has shown him Captain America’s shield, he had always wanted to come to Wakanda.

While they had always presented themselves as a third world country with little to no resources, Tony had known that was a façade even as a child. The vibranium shield had been enough proof that they did have, at the very least, mineral resources. Of course, as an adult, he had discovered that they had the largest vibranium reserve known to man, and at that point he had been absolutely sure they had either willfully decided not to use the resources afforded to man, or there was more to Wakanda that met the eye.

Either way, this almost mystical land had always been in the back of his mind. He had never actually gone, in part because prior to becoming iron man he had been too lost in alcohol and self loathing to do much, and after he had been too busy to even think about something as trivial as visiting Wakanda.

But, as excited as he was to finally see the home country of his father’s treasured vibranium, the entire trip was tinged by a dark and depressing note; after all, his relationship with vibranium - already complicated as a child - had taken a plunge into it becoming a full on trigger for Tony. If Vibranium had once been a symbol to him of Howard’s love for Captain America as well as the hero’s worth and might, it was now merely a symbol of betrayal and death.

Not only that, but he was going into the figurative lion’s den, as this would be the first time in months that he would be within the same country-boundaries as his former teammates.

Rhodey suddenly grabbed his hand, rubbing his knuckles in soothing circles. “It’s okay, Tones, just… don’t think too much about it. You’ll give yourself a headache.”

Tony snorted, thankful as always for his best friend’s anchoring presence. Now that Pepper was no longer in his life, he was more unhinged than ever; he didn’t feel like he was on solid ground anymore. Rhodey and Peter were the last remaining threads that kept him tied to the world as he knew it.

Tony shook his head, forcing himself to think about something other than Pepper. While he still loved her, she had made her choice - and a very valid one at that. He couldn’t expect her to wait for him with her heart in her mouth due to heartbreaking worry every time he had to go off and save the world. She didn’t deserve to have to deal with all his unhealthy coping mechanisms, because, at the end of the day, every time he was hurt, she was hurt too. She loved him as much as she loved herself, which made it intolerable to watch Tony continue to spiral deeper and deeper into the black hole that was being a superhero.

She deserved better than that.

Rhodey’s aborted gasp broke Tony out of his reverie, and he looked towards his friend to see if there was any issues. Rhodey, however, grabbed Tony by the chin and made the man look forward. It was Tony’s turn to gasp as he watched a barrier come down to both let them in and reveal a gorgeous country filled to the brim with cutting edge technology.

Tony leaned forward as far as he could, his curiosity and excitement getting the best of him. He wanted to land the plane wherever to get down and explore by himself. He wanted to see how similar their technology was to his own, for it didn’t quite look the same. Tony was ninety percent sure he was looking at vibranium structures, which left him filled with questions about how exactly they were manipulating the notoriously difficult material.

By the time they reached the landing pad, tony was buzzing with excitement, all his worries momentarily forgotten. He turned all the controls off, and locked down the bird with his fingerprint, as always feeling a little paranoid about safety. He stepped away from the controls and right next to Rhodey, plastering on his best camera smile as soon as the doors opened. He walked with his usual charm down the plane, extending his hand to greet T’Challa once they were close enough.

“Well it seems you have been holding out on me, your Majesty,” Tony teased, before stepping slightly to the side to let Rhodey greet the King. In the meantime, Tony looked around, noticing the obviously well trained female guard standing behind T’Challa.

“Well, perhaps I can make up for that by introducing you to our head of technology,” T’Challa said as he motioned for them to walk with him.

Tony nodded respectfully at the women, earning a few surprised stares, before following T’Challa into the interior of the castle.

“Am I right to assume the foundations of these buildings are all made of vibranium?” Tony asked as he looked up at the impressive ceiling.

“You should assume that everything you see is made out of vibranium,” T’Challa replied honestly, “from our clothes to our weapons.”

Tony could not help but gape. “Your clothes? How exactly are you manipulating the metal in order to get it to look and feel like fabric? Is it pure vibranium or are you mixing it to turn it into a new element? What kind of machinery are you using in order to reach it’s-”

T’Challa chuckled. “I think it is best if I let my sister answer those questions,” T’Challa said warmly, pleased by Tony’s enthusiasm. “She will not be pleased with me if I engage your brain before her.”

“Oh, territorial, I like it. I can already tell we are gonna get along,” Tony joked as he put his hands in his pockets. “So I am assuming this is more of a matriarchal society?”

T’Challa looked at him curiously. “What makes you think that?”

Tony raised a brow at him. “Your sister is the head of technology - arguably the most important branch in terms of a country’s internal development. The head of your guard, and clearly the one that you turn to if shit goes awry, is this lovely lady who can probably kill you in her sleep,” Tony said as he nodded to Okoye. “Also, the entire castle has a feminine air to it, which I assume is due to your mother’s influence.” He shrugged softly. “Don’t get me wrong, I am firmly on the side that women can do things better than men ninety percent of the time. My former CEO is solid proof of that.”

Okoye smiled. “It looks like you have finally found a Westerner with eyes.”

T’Challa chuckled and glanced sideways at Okoye. “Truly, there must be something special about you, Mr. Stark. I don’t think my general has ever warmed up to an American before.”

She scrunched up her nose in distaste. “That’s because you always seem to find the worst ones to acquaint yourself with.”

Tony looked curiously between the two, half wondering if her comments had anything to do with the rogues currently staying in the country.

Before Tony could ask any more questions, or could even try to probe a bit more deeply into the general’s comment, they reached two tinted glass doors which reminded Tony to his own workshop. The doors scanned T’Challa and beeped in approval before opening, revealing a vast room filled with equipment and running tests.

Tony walked in and looked around himself in wonder, unable to keep a goofy grin off his face. He approached the furthest glass window to take a better look at the underground train system they seemed to have.

“Magnetic levitation,” Tony breathed out as he watched one of the bullet trains run past, realizing immediately that it was not made for daily human use; those were meant for transporting goods. He looked closely at the panels, his mind working furiously to understand the system running below him. “You’re carrying vibranium in those trains,” Tony said without waiting for an answer. “And those are stabilizers. But why-”

“Sonic stabilizers,” a young voice said from behind Tony, startling him. She beamed at him, happy that he was catching on so quickly. “They deactivate the vibranium to make it safe to carry,” she explained as she came to stand next to Tony, offering him her hand. “My name is Shuri.”

Tony’s eyes widened involuntarily. “You’re T’Challa’s sister,” he said as he shook her hand.

She nodded. “Welcome to Wakanda.”

“You’re fifteen,” Tony stated blankly, his face momentarily void of emotions.

Shuri tensed slightly, already mentally preparing herself to have to prove her intelligence to this man who probably thought he already had all the answers. “Sixteen, actually.”

Tony’s eyes gleamed, his excitement returning in full force. He turned to look at T’Challa, pointing at Shuri. “I hope you’re taking notes from her, Hello Kitty, because this kid… she’s  _ the future.” _

Shuri’s breath half caught in her chest as she realized three things; the first was that there was not even a trace of judgement due to her age in Tony Stark’s mind. The second was that the man was not competitive, or at least not in the way she had assumed he would be; he was clearly eager to learn, if his questions and over excitement were anything to by. And Lastly, he was brilliant, and had knowledge of areas she knew little about. She had read his work before, so it wasn’t exactly knews that the man was intelligent, but the real tangible proof was in his eyes. She could see how fast he was processing information, how quickly he was coming up with ideas as to how they were turning vibranium into anything under the sun.

She smiled at her brother broadly then, conveying her enthusiasm in that simple gesture. She could already tell having Tony Stark as a guest was going to be fun.

She caught Rhodey's eyes then, and she approached him, still looking as happy as before. “You must be Colonel James Rhodes.”

The man nodded, slightly surprised that she knew that. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Princess.”

“Oh the pleasure is mine. I was wondering when my brother would let you come so I could fix you,” she said nonchalantly as she crouched to look at Rhodey's legs. “Yeah I can fix this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long in updating, life is as usual very hectic.


	6. A Spoonful of trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Trusting is hard. Knowing who to trust, even harder."

Rhodey walked hesitantly to the operating table Shuri kept to the right hand side of her lab. The fact that she even had one made him both feel safe and extremely uneasy because a) he clearly wasn’t the first to use it, but, b) why the hell did she need one in the first place? 

Tony, likely sensing his rising distress, took a few quick strides to stand right next to his best friend, brushing the back of his hand with Rhodey’s with every few steps. It wasn’t an overt display of comfort - Tony would never do such a thing in what he considered an unfamiliar, possibly semi-hostile, environment with people he had no reason to trust further that he could throw them. He was only himself with a select few; namely Rhodey, Peter, Happy and Pepper - though the latter was now one up for debate, what with the break up and them not currently talking at the moment. 

That had hit Tony hard; his entire world had been Pepper, but he had understood her reasoning, had understood how much pain he caused her every time he put on the suit because it meant she might not see him alive and breathing again. He understood that she simply couldn’t see that they were in imminent danger; no one but him - and now strange - could truly see it. And so when she had asked for a break he had let her go without judgement, and without a fight. Because that’s what she wanted, and he would give anything for her to be happy - even if it meant being happy without him. 

Rhodey knew it was something that was still tearing him up inside and that it was also something that had Tony more wary now than before. Between that and Siberia, Tony had seemingly had enough; it was simpler to keep everyone at arm’s length, to keep his walls up, which was why Rhodey was particularly touched by Tony’s gesture. He knew it was hard for him right now to be open and vulnerable, especially with strangers around, and yet he was doing it, because Rhodey needed that from him right now. 

“Thank you, Tones,” he whispered to the genius once Shuri had him laying down on the table. 

“Lie down face down, please,” she said as she moved to the back of the machine to power it up. “Mr. Stark, I need you to move away from the colonel. You can stand here with me. You’ll be able to see everything.” 

Tony hesitated for a second, before finally relenting. He hated not being next to Rhodey when he was about to let someone go into his best friend’s spine again, but, thus far, everything pointed towards the fact that Wakanda was quite likely the most technologically developed nation in the world. So, if Shuri thought she could help Rhodey, then he would for once lay down his guard and trust the young woman. He had a better experience with trusting teenagers than adults anyway; they were less prone to lying, and more prone to empathy. 

The young woman could see just how tense the man standing next to her was, which both amused her and warmed her heart. She opened the screen and made it bigger so that Tony could see everything. “The colonel’s injury was not caused by a bullet, but by a fall while wearing a rather heavy armor. His motor skills were compromised because his spine was injured, and the nervous system around it. I cannot give him back feeling on that zone, but I can restore his mobility,” she explained as she showed Tony a hologram of Rhodey’s spine.

She pressed a button to the left, and what seemed to be a force field appeared all around Rhodey, encasing him in a cocoon of warm light. 

“Colonel, it will be easier if you are asleep for this. Are you alright with us using anesthesia?” She asked calmly, motioning for one of the doctors on standby to approach. 

“Don’t let Tony take pictures of me when I wake up,” he teased, mostly to try to help his friend relax. He smiled when he heard Tony snort somewhere behind him.

With permission granted, the doctor approached the barrier, which lifted momentarily to let her through. She prepped Rhodey with quick and easy movements, before finally pricking his skin in order to feed the IV into his arm. 

The young woman approached the table, and placed a metal bracelet on his arm. She patted his arm as she said “you’ll wake up a new man, Colonel.” With that she gave him a smile, and he knew no more. 

* * *

“It’s done,” Shuri said after what felt like an eternity and a half to Tony. 

She looked towards the man, a small smile on her lips. “He’ll be just fine, Mr. Stark. It will take a few hours for him to wake up, and he’ll need therapy to get full function back on his legs, but he will be able to walk on his own again,” She assured him. 

She wasn’t sure why she was being so gentle with the man. In general, she hated when people doubted her abilities, but this case was different. It didn’t feel like Stark had doubted her in any way; on the contrary he had taken a leap of faith to trust her when he knew next to nothing about her or her accomplishments. This had less to do with her and more to do with the fact that that was his best friend lying on an operating table for almost five hours.

The man had been a ball of stress and anxiety from the second Rhodey had fallen asleep, but he had never once said anything. He had let Shuri work in peace, trusting in her process - something which had earned her respect. She knew just how terrifying it could be when you were unable to do something to help and you had to rely on someone else to save those you loved. She had lived that once already with her brother. 

Tony slowly approached Rhodey, his eyes zooming in on his fresh stitches. The wound was perfectly clean and sealed - it would barely scar. He whirled around and half ran towards the young woman, bringing her into a crushing hug. She could feel months and months of pain and stress being released all at once as the man half sobbed atop her head, which made her heart clench painfully. She hugged him back as best she could, unsure as to how to comfort the man that seemed second away from having a breakdown. 

“Thank you,” he whispered hoarsely, surprised at his own boldness. He stepped away after a few seconds, looking sharply away from her as he tried to reign in his emotions once again. Life had been a shit show since Siberia and while he had clamped down on any and all emotions in order to move on and concentrate on his work, even he couldn’t keep it all bottled up forever. 

He could feel his muscles and bones hurting like they hadn’t in years, the stress and guilt of being partially responsible for Rhodey’s injury finally catching up to him. Now that he could think past finding ways of helping Rhodey, the shock and trauma of seeing Rhodey spiral down to the ground was gripping his soul like a vice. The image was flashing through his eyes, making his heart beat faster with fear.

In a way, it was the strangest form of pain; he knew logically Rhodey was fine. He knew he didn’t have to wallow anymore, but he had not allowed himself to feel anything before in order to help him. And now, now that it looked like his friend was going to be okay, he couldn’t find it in him to stop the onslaught of grief and worry and shame. 

Shuri looked towards her team, and gave them a quick nod in dismissal, noticing the beginnings of a panic attack when she saw one. She hesitated behind Tony, unsure whether she was supposed to help or not. She wasn’t even sure if she would only do more harm. It was clear to anyone with eyes that the man had very deep trust issues. 

‘I will leave you two to rest for a bit,” she said quietly as she walked to the door, worry clear on her eyes. “If you need anything at all, I will be just next door with my brother.” 

Tony nodded in acknowledgement, though, in truth, he had heard nothing bast “I will leave you two”. His ears were ringing and he couldn’t think clearly right now. Memories were all meshing together, of Rhodey getting injured, of Siberia, of his nightmares after New York, of losing people.

There was so much at stake and so little with which to prepare. 

Tony fell to one knee, screwing his eyes shut as he forced himself to take one breath and then another. He continued on much in the same fashion as he let the panic run its course through his body. He was far more used to this now than he had been back when Killian was alive. 

Once he was sure he wasn’t about to start screaming, or worse, keel over, he slowly made his way back to a standing position, his legs still feeling a little shaky. He sat down on the chair Shuri had left for him, so that he could watch over Rhodey while the man slept. He knew he had other things to do; namely go and speak with T’Challa about joining the Avengers, but a part of him couldn’t leave his best friend to wake up in an unfamiliar room alone. 

There would be time for talking later. 

Little did he know that same conversation was already occurring not two doors down from where he sat watching over Rhodey. 

T’Challa was sitting with Okoye, Shuri, Nakia and his mother, all looking anxious and worried. They sat around one of the many conference tables, their tea now cold and still untouched.

“If he is right, if there truly is that kind of power residing on earth, then we must do something,” Nakia said as she shook her head. “We cannot stand by and watch the world burn any longer.” 

“But what kind of help can we offer, when we don’t even know who might want it? Right now, all we know is that there is a possibility some alien force out there might want the stones,” the queen mother reasoned. “We cannot act rashly when every piece of information is mere speculation.” 

“Did Stark mention any specific plans?” Okoye asked her king, her countenance as serious as ever. 

“No, we still need to speak about that, though, I would imagine, his first priority will be to rebuild the Avengers,” T’Challa said as he leaned back on his chair. “He was very adamant about keeping the team together before, because he was afraid of Earth’s future without anyone left to protect it. Now that he doesn’t have a team, I imagine he will be looking to recruit.”

“You don’t think he’ll try to bring back his former teammates?” Shuri asked curiously. 

She was surprised when it was Okoye that shook her head. “He is very clearly uncomfortable with the idea of them even being near him. We do not know the full story, nor do we know what happened or how he returned home from Siberia” she reminded, throwing a glare at T'Challa. “However, from what we've seen, it is clear Stark will not move a finger to get them back to the United States.”

“We can offer him vibranium,” Shuri pointed out. “He used to have an impressive number of armors. Perhaps that's how he plans to rebuild his team.” 

“He'll need more than just armors to win, but it certainly cannot hurt,” T'Challa agreed, albeit slightly hesitantly. “I don't simply want to send vibranium without any guarantee. If his weapons were to fall in the wrong hands, entire countries could be doomed. We must have a way to control these… sentinel armors.* 

“Have you considered signing your father's Accord and joining him?” His mother asked quietly.

Before T'Challa could answer, Okoye added “if you do, we'll have first hand information of what is happening at all times. I know you have reservations about the treaty, but this is an opportunity you might not want to pass up, your majesty.”

T'Challa nodded. “I have been meaning to speak to Stark about the accords. He has made a number of changes already. He has clout at the UN, and he has powerful friends in the American government.”

“He could be a powerful ally, then,” his mother murmured, mostly to herself. 

T'Challa nodded regardless. “I will speak with Mr. Stark about the new Avengers initiative, and about the vibranium. In the meantime, please speak to no one about the stones. The less people know of their existence the better.”

All the women around him - which now comprised the entirety of his most inner council - nodded, before standing to take their leave. He knew he could trust them all with his life and the welfare of his country, which was why he had chosen each one of them. All his other advisors and heads of the clans continued to meet with him once a week for official matters. But when it came to advice - to personal, important advice - there were no better people for him to go to than the women who had given everything to make sure their country remained standing after his father's death.  

* * *

Peter swung from one skyscraper to the next, clicking his tongue as he looked down, keeping himself plastered to the side of the building. It was a Saturday morning, which would have generally meant Peter spending the day with either Tony at his workshop or with May at home. But, since May had to work and Tony was still in Wakanda until tonight, Peter had his schedule completely free. 

He had considered calling Ned or MJ to hang out, but had ended up coming up with an even better idea; he was going to find the Sanctum. Dr. Strange had mentioned it to him a few times while making him wait for his wound to seal. He had never actually given him an address, however, which made this infinitely harder since he could be anywhere in the city. Not only that, but the walls had some sort of noise cancelling spell, so he couldn’t even tell which borough they were in by traffic alone. He was pretty sure he had seen a few skyscrapers through one of the windows, however, hence he had started his search in Manhattan. 

“Karen, if you were part of a crazy magic organization, where would you set down one of your bases?” Peter asked as he made his way downtown, looking for anything that screamed magical. 

“Well, I don’t think I can answer that, Peter, but perhaps I can try looking for an area which does not fall under my radar?” 

Peter stopped atop a high building, frowning underneath the mask. “How exactly would you do that?” 

“I will send out a tracker to analyze the city. If there’s an area that doesn’t get a reading, it probably will be the building you are looking for. The doctor mentioned they have wards against detection.”

“Karen you are a genius,” Peter praised happily. “Send Arnold to search the upper east and upper west sides. I can search downtown. Maybe we can cut down on time that way.” 

“Of course, Peter,” the AI answered warmly. “But I do believe you should inform Mr. Stark of your plans. He might worry otherwise since he hasn’t given you permission to seek out Dr. Strange.” 

“He’s in Wakanda,” Peter protested, very aware of the fact that Tony would probably freak out again if he found out Peter was attempting to hang out with the sorcerer. 

They had seemed to be on much friendlier terms last time once Stephen had left the compound, but Tony hadn’t wanted to talk about it with Peter, which had left Peter completely out of the loop. Still, Peter was almost one hundred percent sure Strange wasn’t one of the bad guys, and he was still very curious about the man. So it stood to reason that, since he still hadn’t thanked Strange properly for saving his life, the least Peter had to do was go find him and thank him. And if he managed to get back inside the Sanctum to have a look around, then really that was just an added bonus that Tony didn’t need to worry about because he was on a different continent doing very important stuff and ergo not constantly checking in on Peter. 

With his mind made up, Peter made his way downtown, using his x-ray vision to make his search a little quicker. He just needed to find a building which he couldn’t see inside. Simple really; except it wasn’t simple at all, because he had to look one by one and then mark it off to not check in the same place again. All in all, it took him a good three hours before finally  _ finally  _ finding a building downtown that seemed to repel his x-ray vision. 

“Karen, where are we?” Peter asked as he carefully made his way into an alleyway in order to change. The last thing he wanted was to bring attention to the order by banging on the doors as Spiderman.

The news would pick up on it immediately, and then he would be in big trouble - both with his aunt and with Tony.

"Bleecker Street," she informed him. "I have dropped a pin on this location for future references."  

"Thanks," he said as he knocked on the door three times, taking a small step back as an echo of the knocks reverberated everywhere inside the house. Peter knew no regular human would be able to hear that - but he was no regular human. His enhanced senses helped him hear the echo, helped him hear the rustling of a cloak and the low pitched vibration that reminded Peter of when Strange had opened a portal.

It took a few minutes, but the doctor himself opened the door, clearly not expecting it to be Peter on the other side. His eyes narrowed immediately with worry. “Peter what are you doing here? Is Stark okay? What happened? Where is he?” 

Peter put up his hands as if to pacify the older man. “No, wait Dr. Strange nothing bad happened! Mr. Stark left two days ago. He's in Wakanda right now.” 

If possible Stephen's eyes narrowed further. “Why are you here then? Did something happen while you were out as Spid-”

“I was just passing by to visit my favorite Doctor,” Peter cut him off a little too loudly, afraid any of the passerby would be able to hear the Doctor speak about Spider-Man of all things. 

Strange, as observant as ever, did not fail to notice Peter's instinctive worry about speaking of “superhero” related matters out in the open. Thus, the sorcerer beckoned the younger man into the Sanctum without another word, smiling softly to himself when he saw Peter's shoulder sag slightly once he was inside. 

He had no idea why the young man felt safe here of all places, considering he barely knew Strange and the boy's mentor seemed to detest everything magic for some reason unknown to Strange. 

“Alright, Peter. Now, tell me what happened,” Strange said after a few seconds, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Peter gaped at the man slightly, not sure whether to feel offended or not at the fact that Stephen's first assumption was to think something had gone horribly wrong. “I actually just came over to thank you,” Peter admitted.

Strange was even more confused than before. “Thank me? For what?” 

Peter cocked his head to the side, confused by the man's questions. In a way it reminded him of Tony; he too was always surprised when Peter thanked him for anything. “You really helped me the other day when I was injured, and you took me back ho- to Mr. Stark's compound even though I warned you he would be mad. You didn't have to help me, so thank you,” Peter ended, giving the man a brilliant smile.  

Before the doctor could reply, Peter brought his backpack to the floor, pulling it open to take out a large box which he gave to Strange. 

“They're cookies and cupcakes my aunt made with me and my friend Ned. They're generally terrible, but Ned and I made sure they were edible,” Peter rambled, still a little nervous about being in the Sanctum with the doctor who probably thought he was the strangest child he had met. 

Stephen didn't quite know what to say. No one had thanked him for saving them since his time as a surgeon - which at this point had been some years ago. He had grown unaccustomed to such innocent thanks, to such friendly gestures, which made it all that much harder to know what to do in these types of situations.

“I… uh, you're welcome, Peter. And thank you for the cookies, Wong will be very happy when he hears there's cookies - though you really didn't have to bring me anything,” Stephen said awkwardly after what he felt was an eternity.

Peter, however, seemed unfazed by the man's awkwardness, for he only smiled, once again surprising Stephen. This kid was too cheerful and nice for his own good.

“I smell cookies,” Wong said from the top of the stairs, smiling warmly at Peter when the boy looked up. “It's good to see you again, Spider-Man.”

“Oh my name is Peter,” The boy said with a small blush. “It's good to see you again too, sir.” 

“Wong is just fine,” the man said amicably as he came to stand next to Stephen. He eyed the younger sorcerer, taking the cookies from his hands without a trace of remorse. “Give that to the professional, Strange.” 

The doctor rolled his eyes but did not protest when Wong took the cookies with him to the kitchen. Stephen turned back to look at Peter, surprised to feel the cloak suddenly leave his shoulders to float next to him. It waved at Peter whether in greeting or in thanks for bringing its master cookies, Stephen wasn't sure. 

Either way, Peter's reaction was truly  _ priceless _ . His eyes widened comically and his jaw dropped instantly, a small sound - somewhere between a gasp and a squeal - escaping him. “Your cloak can move on its own! Oh my god that's so sick.”

Stephen raised a brow at the choice of expression. “It's a sentient being,” Stephen explained as he looked at his cloak, who seemed to have taken an interest in the young man. 

Peter's eyes widened a fraction further, and he stepped very close to the cloak, to examine it a bit more closely. “Hi! My name is Peter. It's.. I'm… nice to meet you!”

The cloak extended one of its flaps, and Peter took it without hesitation, rolling with the punches of this most bizarre experience. Stephen watched the two, feeling more than a little surprised not only at the fact that the cloak seemed to like Peter, but at the fact that the boy was actually treating it like… it's own being.

It had taken Stephen a few weeks to get to that point himself once the cloak had chosen him. 

He cleared his throat, suddenly feeling a keen understanding of why Tony had felt such panic when Peter had disappeared off the radar for a few hours; the boy was simply too good. It was impossible not to feel ridiculously protective over him. Even Strange, who did not have a parental bone in his entire body, felt the need to pat Peter on the head and keep him safe from the horrible dangers of the world. 

Suddenly the wizard stilled and his eyes narrowed in on Peter. “Does Stark know you are here?” 

“He's in Wakanda.”

“That doesn't answer my question,” the wizard said without missing a beat.

Peter looked like a deer caught in the headlights. “I mean I didn't tell him I was going to go looking for you today, no, but he's in Wakanda so it's not like he's going to be checking. 

Stephen sighed, rubbing his eyes in annoyance. He could feel the beginnings of a headache starting at the back of his head. “I assume Stark is not legally responsible for you; does the person responsible for you know?” 

“Um, no, my aunt is out of town for work,” Peter admitted, looking a bit sheepish.

“Your aunt? Where are your parents?” Stephen asked confused.

“Dead,” Peter deadpanned, feeling like patting himself on the back for how calmly he had said that.

“Oh, I… uh… I'm sorry,” Strange murmured, suddenly feeling like he had lost his footing in the conversation. 

Peter, however, just smiled graciously. “It's alright. They… it happened a long time ago. My aunt has been taking care of me since then.” 

Stephen nodded, feeling very uncomfortable. “Right, well, back to the point. You can't just be here without warning anyone, Peter. Stark will probably go out of his mind,”

“He's not even gonna know,” Peter assured the wizard, before turning around after feeling a soft tap on his shoulder. “Do you want me to follow you?” Peter asked the cloak, clearly excited at the prospect.

“This is a bad idea,” Stephen muttered but did not do anything to stop Peter from clinging the stairs up to the second floor. 

The Cloak took Peter to the main library, wrapping the boy's hand with one of the flaps to keep him moving. 

“Are all these books about magic?” Peter asked curiously, wondering if the Doctor would mind too much if he were to simply grab a book and flip through it. 

“Not all of them, no,” Stephen answered as he followed the two closely behind. “Some of them are about medicine, meditation, philosophy, and the like.” 

Before Peter could keep asking questions, Wong walked in, phone in hand, looking terribly amused. “You have a call, Peter.” 

Peter turned to look at Wang, paling immediately. There was only one person who could have gotten the number to the Sanctum - and was that seriously a  _ landline _ phone Wong was holding? - without needing to ask for it.

“Okay, before you get mad,” Peter said as he picked up the phone.

“If you are injured again, Peter, so help me god-” 

“No I am not injured! I haven't even fought anyone today!” Peter promised, though it sounded more like a whine than anything else.

“Then why the hell are you at Strange's place? And don't tell me you're not. You have been off radar for almost 20 minutes.”.

“How do you even know that. Aren't you supposed to be on a plane on your way back to New York?”

“I am on the plane, Peter. That doesn't me- wait a minute, did you go to see the wizard today because you knew I was going to be airborne?” Tony hissed, feeling his anger flare up as worry turned into suspicion.

“No,” Peter responded far too quickly, which made him wince. “I mean… I just wanted to drop by and say thank you, since I didn't have anything else to do.”

Tony took a deep breath, willing himself to not get angrier. “Fun fact kid, I can smell a lie miles away,” he said, sounding dangerously sweet. “Pass the phone to the Wizard.”

Peter swallowed hard, but did as he was told. “He wants to talk to you.”

“Of course he does,” Stephen sighed. He put the phone against his ear and said “for the record, I did not invite him.”

“I know,” Tony said, chuckling despite himself. “He seems to like you. He likes all the magic juju crap you got going on.” 

Stephen rolled his eyes. “Clearly he has taste.”

Tony snorted, before turning serious. “Look Doctor, I need to ask you for a favor. I won't be returning to the States today. I have to fly to Geneva for a meeting with a few people from the UN. I'll likely be gone for almost a week. Could you… just keep an eye on Peter while I am gone? His aunt and I… she stresses enough as it is. I have eyes on him every time he is on patrol, but I won't reach him in time if something happens.” 

To say Stephen was surprised was a very big understatement. He wasn't sure when they had gone from Tony threatening to blast Stephen off of the face of the Earth if he didn't move away from Peter to now having the man ask Stephen to watch over his while he was gone. The Doctor wasn't sure if this was Stark's most meaningful show of trust, or if he simply had no other options and needed to have some fail safe in place in case his kid got injured. 

In either case, Stephen felt touched by the man's request. Stark was… nothing like what he had expected the man to be, which was a pleasant surprise.

“Of course, I will take make sure he's still in one piece by the time you are back,” Stephen reassured him after a minute, remembering he hadn't answered Tony's request yet.  

“Thank you,” Tony breathed out as the knot on his stomach finally relaxed. “Okay I have to go, but please tell him he's in trouble for sneaking behind my back,” Tony ended sweetly, which earned a chuckle from the sorcerer.

“I will make sure he is appropriately terrified by the time you are back. Safe travels, Stark,” he said before ending the call. He smiled at Peter, who was looking more and more horrified by the second.

“I thought you hated each other! Why are you ganging up on me?” 

Stephen made a chair appear seemingly out of nowhere, before grabbing a book and sitting down with a tiny smirk on his face. “I have no idea what you are talking about.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for taking forever to update, but here is the next chapter! Hopefully I will have the another one done in a week or so.


	7. A New Initiative

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “I'm starting to think this world is just a place for us to learn that we need each other more than we want to admit.”   
> ― Richelle E. Goodrich

Tony smiled genially at the two flabbergasted individuals standing in front of him. It was always so fun to come in when people were least expecting it. Of course, this was a lot less fun than usual considering he didn’t know either of these people and one of them had been his father’s arch nemesis, which should have scored Tony a point or two - what with him being Howard’s biggest disappointment and all that - but no, Hank Pym had decided from the day Tony was born that he was just like his father. So, essentially, he was standing in front of a man that would likely smile at seeing him broken and bruised on the ground - and his daughter, who likely hated him too. 

It felt eerily similar to standing in front of his former teammates. 

“What… how the hell did you even get in here?” Hank pink asked slightly disgruntled. “If you are here on behalf of Ross or his band of phonies, then you can-”

“I am not here for Ross. He doesn’t even know I am here,” Tony said as he raised both his hands, not failing to notice the fact that Hope had quietly taken something out of her pocket and seemed ready to throw it at him. 

He just hoped it wasn’t a truck full of gasoline, because he had had that happen once already and it had not been a good time for anyone involved. 

“Then why are you here Mr. Stark?” She asked, her face unsmiling. 

“Okay, first of all, can you both stop assuming I am the enemy here? If anything you should be pissed at the idiot that got you into this mess,” Tony barked out, feeling suddenly exhausted. “I am not trying to attack you. I just came to  _ help _ you.” 

Hank looked ready to argue, but Hope knew better than to pass up a golden opportunity. She held out her hand towards her father, her eyes never leaving Tony. “Trust me, we know who is to blame. We are no longer on speaking terms with Scott. However, that doesn’t mean we’re on your friend’s list.” 

Tony snorted. “If there is one thing I have learned in this life, is that I only have one friend, Ms. Van Dyne.” 

The woman wisely chose not to answer, knowing how things had ended after Germany. “You still haven’t told us why you are here.” 

“I did tell you, you’re just not listening to me. I am here to help you,” Tony repeated with a dangerously sweet smile. He extended his arm and, from his watch, he pulled up a few holograms that he sent their way to peruse. “Ross has had his eye on you for eyes, Dr. Pym. This was just his perfect excuse to get you down. Luckily for you, I have a lot of powerful friends that did not agree with Ross’s overreach of power. They agreed with me on the fact that, while the suit was made by you, you did not in any way agree to participate in what happened in Germany.” 

Hank stood there, speechless, reading and rereading the pardons. “How… Why would you help us, Mr. Stark? I doubt you did it out of the goodness of your heart.” 

Tony gave him his best camera-ready smile, ignoring the jab. “Well, first of all, because you and your daughter do not deserve to pay for what Mr. Lang did. And, second, because… well because I have an offer for your daughter I couldn’t exactly give before.” 

Hank’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “We are not interested in any-”

“I can speak for myself, dad,” Hope interrupted firmly, giving her father a rather unimpressed look. “What kind of offer are we talking about, Mr. Stark?” 

“I have been informed that the suit Scott had is not the only one your father made,” Tony started, placing his hands behind his back. “You have one as well - and you know how to use it well.” With that Tony pulled up a video clip of Hope in the suit of a couple of months back. 

“Where did you get that?” She asked quietly, her voice tight with worry. 

“Ross has never seen this, don’t worry,” he said, forcing himself not to roll his eyes. “You are a very skilled fighter Hope, and you are brilliant. I know you and your father were working on a lot of quantum physics theories before-”

“And how exactly would you know any of this, Stark?” Hank spat out, looking ready to murder Tony. He couldn’t know about Janet. He couldn’t. He would destroy all they had been working on. 

Tony clenched his teeth. “I happen to be very good at doing my homework, Dr. Pym. I like knowing what the people I am going to work with are capable of.”

“Well that didn’t do you much good last time, did it?” Pym bit out as he approached Tony slowly, still exuding aggression. 

Tony clenched his teeth, forcing himself to keep his temper in check. “I didn’t have a say on who joined the team last time, doctor.” 

“You wanted me to join the Avengers?” Hope asked as she connected the dots from the words thrown around in their little spat.

Tony gave Pym one final glare before turning to look at Hope, giving her a curt not. “We… have found significant evidence that the Earth might soon be in danger. The Avengers as we knew them no longer exist. So now it falls on me to make a new team to protect it. I need your help, Ms. Van Dyne - and I am willing to help you with your quantum project in return.”

“You scratch my back I scratch yours?” She asked with a half smile, which Tony answered with one of his own.

“Kind of,” the man lied easily. They did not need to know that he knew exactly why they wanted the quantum reactor to work. He was willing to help Hope not just to get her help but because a part of him wished he could get his mother back too. He could sympathize with the woman and her plight; and he had the ability to help her. 

“What happens if I say yes?” She asked as she sat down, grabbing the cup of tea she had been enjoying before Tony showed up.

“You sign the Accords. I am working on some modifications so that we can each have personalized contracts under them, so I would ask you to make a list of the things you would want to work into yours. We then would start meeting regularly to get the team back on its feet. The criminal charges against you and your father will be dropped immediately and we can start working on repossessing your company. ” 

“And If I say no?” She asked genially.

“Then the criminal charges are dropped and I will help you repossess your company. After that you and I part ways, and the UN and the US government will each separately ask you to sign a consent stating that you will not use your suit to get involved in international issues nor for personal gain within the US.”

Hope nodded and took a sip of her tea as she mulled the thought over. This was her chance not only to get her mom back, but to help others. This was her chance to do things right when stepping up to bat. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to work under Tony Stark, as he father had never had a kind word to say about him, but she had followed his career post-ironman. The man was dedicated to a fault. She did not want to let her father’s assumptions cloud her judgement.

“I will sign the accords,” she agreed after a few minutes. “And I will get back to you about my requests for the contract by the end of next week.”

Tony smiled, suddenly feeling a weight drop off his shoulders. He had one more person willing to fight - there was a chance this would not all implode in his face. 

“Thank you Ms. Van Dyne,” Tony said as he walked towards her to offer his hand. He wasn’t usually this formal with anyone, but, considering how poor his relationship was with the Pyms, and how dire the situation was, seriousness was his best bet. “My lawyers will be here in two hours to start you on the process of the accords and to straighten up the pardons. If you need anything else or have any questions, please do call.”

Tony offered her a business card, and she took it gingerly, ignoring her father’s death glare. She was sure the man would give her a good talking to once Tony was one. She had essentially just agreed to work with his sworn enemy, but, honestly, the man needed to get over himself. Stark was not his father, and she had better things to do with her life than live with her father’s resentments. 

* * *

Tony couldn’t help the small smile that graced his lips when he saw the wizard descending upon the lawn, levitating as if it was a normal everyday thing to do. The man knew T’Challa was visiting as Tony had warned him, and it seemed the Wizards was determined to make a lasting impression. 

Tony, for one, could not wait to break the man’s entrance. 

As soon as he was within earshot Tony called out “What’s up hermione! Good of you to join us,” with a shit eating grin that only grew at the Wizard’s glare. 

T’Challa looked between the two, trying - and failing - to keep a neutral face. “Good Afternoon, Dr. Strange, it is good to meet you.” 

Strange offered a hand. “A pleasure, your Majesty,” his eyes narrowed as he looked back at Tony who was making faces behind T’Challa “are you quite finished Stark?” 

Tony rolled his eyes. “You need a sense of humour, fortune cookie,” he said as he motioned for them to follow him. 

“You said you had something important to speak to us about?” T’Challa prompted before the two could degenerate into two school children. 

“My amendments were passed at the UN. The Accords will now allow us for personal contracts,” Tony explained. “If you are going to join me, your majesty, then I need your lawyers to draft your contract and have it be sent to the UN as soon as possible.” 

T’Challa nodded. “I told you before you left Wakanda that I would join your new initiative. I do not go back on my word, Mr. Stark.” 

Tony hummed, neither agreeing nor denying. “I know we haven’t discussed this, but… I… it might be useful if you join the Avengers as well, Strange.” Tony said, his tone soft, almost vulnerable.

Stephen was slightly taken aback by the request.  While he knew Tony didn’t outright dislike him anymore, and he had shown that he was capable and willing to trust Stephen when necessary, joining the team was a whole new level of trust and closeness. It was one thing to ask him to keep an eye out for the man’s kid while he was away. It was another very different to ask him to be a brother in arms - to be the person day in and day out he could trust to have his back. 

Of course, Strange was also aware that perhaps while this meant a lot to him, as he had always been a lone wolf and thus could more clearly appreciate just how much trust there needed to be in a team, it did not mean the same to Tony. Tony, as far as Strange was aware, had had multiple bad experiences when it came to teams. So it was very possible he was extending Strange this courtesy out of necessity, and likely expected the wizard to betray him at the first chance. 

That bothered Strange more than expected. 

He also was not quite sure if he was even allowed to say yes. The very existence of his order was supposed to be kept hidden from the public at large. To allow himself to be contained by human political organizations seemed ridiculous, but he understood that it was not the same to work on the metaphysical plane than on the physical one - where lives were lost in real time. If he wanted to engage both at the same time he would have to make a few concessions - and Tony’s powerful political allies were his best bet.

“If I were to become an Avenger… there would have to be contingencies in place so that I can continue doing my work unhindered. My order is not bound by political organizations, nor is it necessarily bound to the physical realm, and I intend for it to remain so.” 

“I am sure my lawyers can exploit that. There is nothing in the accords that talk about anything mystical, so we should be able to keep your work untouched,” Tony assured him as he walked them into the living room area - which he had completely torn down and done over after Germany. 

The old red and orange sets of couches in the two “living room” spaces were gone, and in its place now stood one singular set of white couches with silver accessories in one of the open spaces and a grand piano in the other. Tony gestured towards the couches for the two men to sit, before heading to the kitchen. 

“Would either of you like some coffee?” He asked from where he stood, feeling the need to keep his hands busy - something which had increasingly gotten worse ever since Strange had told him about the stones. 

Tony’s twitchiness did not escape the Doctor’s notice, but he did not say anything. He wasn’t sure Tony would appreciate him pointing it out, especially not when T’Challa was in the room. 

“Water is fine, thank you,” the doctor said after a few seconds.

“Same for me,” T’Challa said as he unbuttoned his jacket and sat down, resting his elbows on his legs. “I have sent Nakia on a recon mission to see if we can find anyone that might be suited for the team, but I am not sure how successful we will be.” 

“Well, I have some leads already, which Rhodes and I are working on, so there’s hope yet,” Tony teased as he passed both men their waters. “Fury came by a few days ago to pay us a little visit,” Tony revealed, his body tensing involuntarily at the memory. 

He still had not forgiven the man for not being there when everything had gone to shit, for not telling him about his parents when he too had known, for showing up months later, for bringing the team together in the first place. 

“He reminded Rhodes of an old air force buddy that may be able to join the team. Fury didn’t explain fully, but apparently there’s more to her than the already scarily capable woman Rhodes had a huge crush on while at the academy. Something along the lines of her being half human, and insanely powerful. ” Tony said nonchalantly. “I have also spoken with Hope Pym. She has agreed to sign on to the Avengers as the Wasp. I have to speak in more detail with her later today, actually.” 

“Well it seems you have been very productive since we last saw each other,” Stephen praised with a twitch of his lips. 

Tony nodded his head both as confirmation and in thanks.

“Speaking of productivity, the council in Wakanda has agreed to my request to grant you vibranium, Mr. Stark,” T’Challa said, looking pleased. “However, they have asked that you allow us to have some control over it. Shuri can help you in your project.”

“Sure, it will be fun. I kinda have been wanting to see her in action ever since I got a peek at her lab,” Tony said easily, hiding any discomfort he may have had at knowing a stranger would become so intimately acquainted with the workings of the iron man armor.

Stephen frowned. “What project?” He asked, feeling a little lost. “I wasn’t aware you had requested any vibranium, Stark.” 

“Well it’s not like you and I talk or see each other every day,” Tony pointed out, unsure as to why he needed to defend himself. “Fry pull up the plans for the iron legion.” 

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a small floor projector came up, projecting the images from wall to wall for Stephen to peruse. The wizard couldn’t help but gape as he stood up and began studying the numerous annotations made on the projected images. “Is this… these are iron man units,” Stephen confirmed to himself as he enhanced one of the images. “Why would you need this many?”

“These would not be for my personal use,” Tony corrected softly, remembering how heavily he had been judged the last time he had tried to protect earth with technology. 

“You want to create a sentient army,” Stephen breathed out, sounding both impressed and disturbed. 

“I want to create something that can help us defend earth while protecting as many civilian lives as possible,” Tony corrected forcibly, his eyes flashing with anger. “Don’t you see? There is  _ something  _ coming, Strange, and the three of us can’t stop it. I was there, alright? I saw just how massive the chitauri forces were,” Tony snarled, getting up from his seat. “There were so many of them, I couldn’t see where their army  _ ended _ . And whoever is controlling them? They are more powerful than anything we have faced.”

Stephen raised his hand in an appeasing motion. “I am not disagreeing with the concept behind your idea, Tony,” Stephen said slowly, surprising himself when Tony’s name just slipped out. “I understand why you want to create this… force, but we also have to be realistic that, if it falls in the wrong hands, your units could have the power to destroy the world as we know it.” 

Tony sighed, suddenly feeling exhausted. “I know, which is why this is not a public project.”

Stephen raised a brow. “You’re going against the accords?” 

“No, I am not. There’s nothing in the accords that addresses something like this,” Tony said with a small smirk. “But yes, I am not reporting this any time soon, not until I am sure I can keep anyone from using them to cause others harm.” 

“And how exactly do you plan to do that?” Stephen pushed. 

“Look I truly believe that the Avengers should not work or fall under any one government, and, in a way, the UN is the best scenario in terms of overseeing control for the Avengers because they represent everyone. We need to hear everyone, because for the past ten years we have been wrecking people’s lives,” Tony started, pacing from one side of the room to the other. “I understand why king T’Chaka wanted to pass them, and I stand behind them, because we are not meant to get involved in international issues. We are here to deal with the threats that no army on earth can deal with. We need to have checkpoints, and they are the best one we are going to get.” 

Stephen nodded, crossing his arms in front of his chest as his intelligent eyes tracked the other man’s movements. 

“But these units? They are not meant to be used -  _ ever.  _ I don’t want the UN using them or having the codes to ever use them; I don’t want  _ us  _ using them either. It is… too much power, too much possible destruction. They are meant to be used only in the case of a full scale invasion.” 

“That still does not tell me how you plan to make that a reality. How do you keep them from being used?” 

“We keep them stored. I don’t need to legally declare any iron man suit I make so long as I do not use it in combat. My contract also specifies that my designs and any weaponry I make is patented and no one has access to that. These units will be made under my patents, and they will  _ not  _ be used, and therefore not reported. I also want to set a three way checkpoint system, to make absolutely sure no one - and nothing - can use them for harm.” 

T’challa tilted his head, looking more and more curious with every word. “What kind of system do you propose?” 

“Three pseudo keys,” Tony said as he moved to one of the screens and began moving around things until he could bring up three different images, one of the physical vibranium-based suit, one of the coding, and one big arc reactor. He first pointed towards the suit “Your sister can help me code the physical armor so that it responds to something - a key of sorts - that you,” Tony pointed at T’challa” will keep in your possession. With it the physical unit will become mobile.” 

“And without the key the unit would be unmovable?” 

Tony nodded. “Now, I will be in charge of the coding, in order to attach the suit’s mainframe to FRIDAY. She will be the one remotely controlling the units. Without my key code, they will not turn on.” 

“And the last key?” Stephen asked, his curious eyes reminding Tony of himself. 

“Well, that one is a work in progress. It depends on how compatible magic and technology really are,” Tony said, his voice laced with tension. He enlarged the image of the reactor. “This is the main source of power of the suit. If we create some form of magical device to keep them from powering up… well then you would have to “unlock” your magical juju device for the units to be usable.” 

“That’s… quite brilliant actually,” Stephen praised, much to Tony’s surprise. The genius could not remember the last time someone had reacted this well to one of his inventions. “But what happens if one of us dies?” 

“Well I would assume we will have activated the units by the time something strong enough to kill one or more of us is here,” Tony said with a snort. “You’ll have to let me know what magical thing you can do that can work with these units. It also has to be remote, because we might not be near the units when we need to activate them.” 

“I had not realized your plans were this advanced, or this large, Mr. Stark,” T’Challa admitted. “I am afraid I will need to speak once more with my advisors, but,” the man said with a small smile “I think it can be done.” 

Before any of them could say anything else, one of the beads in T’Challa’s bracelet began to vibrate. The man sighed softly. “I am afraid I will have to cut this meeting short, gentlemen. Duty calls.” 

Tony nodded. “I will send you some of the drafts so that Shuri can look at it.” 

The king nodded, before offering Tony his hand. “We will speak soon, Mr. Stark.” T’Challa turned and offered a hand to the Wizard as well. “Dr. Strange. I assume I’ll be seeing more of you from here on.”

“Indeed, what joy,” the man said with a dry smile, before taking the offered hand. At this point he just wanted the king to leave. He could see how tense Tony was; it looked like the man was ready to break. 

He had been handling everything on his own; from his visceral reaction to knowing that a possible threat was coming to planning ways to survive it, Tony had turned to no one. He had begun recruiting people, he had begun making plans for a legion - and Stephen was sure that was not all the man had planned thus far. 

Tony’s body was just one tense line ready to go off, and, while he was a master at hiding behind masks and words and smiles, Stephen was still a medical doctor. The man could not hide his body’s natural reactions to sleep deprivation and stress from Stephen’s watchful eyes. 

Once the King was gone, Stephen slowly approached Tony, making sure to stay within the man’s line of sight. “You haven’t been sleeping or eating properly” his statement was not a question. 

Tony looked up at Stephen, only belatedly realizing that he was likely not speaking to the wizard in the man but the doctor. “I’m fine,” he answered automatically.

Stephen took one step closer. “Your body is running on fumes right now, Stark. You need sleep, food, and a stress reliever.” 

Tony tensed even further. “I can take care of myself, I can assure you.” 

Stephen smiled softly at the obvious lie. “I am just trying to help you Tony,” he murmured. “I am a doctor, remember? Let me help you.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay it only took me two weeks to update! lol. I have good news for you; I am likely putting my other fic on hold to concentrate on this one, so that I can be about halfway in by the time endgame hits theaters. Not ideal, but realistic haha. 
> 
> I hope you are enjoying it!


	8. Magic + Tony = No.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds.”   
> ― Laurell K. Hamilton

Tony wasn’t quite sure what to say to that. The wizard seemed to be genuine in his offer to help; hell, even his concern was palpable. And that was simply something Tony did not know how to handle. He wasn’t used to people caring, period. There were three, maybe four if he counted Peter, people that came to mind that he could genuinely say cared about him - or had cared at some point his life. They were people that had stuck with Tony through thick and thin. They were people that had gained his trust slowly and painfully over the years. 

Strangers - and yes Stephen was still very much a stranger to Tony - did not simply care about Tony Stark. They cared about what he could offer, or what information they could gain. Strangers looked at him either as an enemy or a piggy bank; there was rarely an in-between. So, it made Tony almost uncomfortable to see genuine concern in the man’s eyes, because what the hell was he supposed to do with that? He was the best there ever was at playing the game, but the game involved people  _ not  _ caring. He couldn’t exactly manipulate the situation when the man was giving him nothing to work with. 

There was also the fact that Stephen was a motherfucking  _ wizard _ , with a flying cape and all, and that, above all, did not sit well with Tony. Actually no, that was an understatement; it absolutely terrified Tony. Just the thought of being next to what was likely the most powerful mage on earth - and there was no denying that, considering the man was the sorcerer  _ supreme _ \- was enough to make his hair stand on edge.

He liked the man’s wit, and he could even go as far as to say that he was sure he would enjoy seeing more of the man. But to trust him to help with any matters relating to Tony’s health? 

_ He protected the kid. He kept an eye on him when you asked, and he saved Peter when Strange didn’t even know him. You do trust him. Stop being a dick, and say yes.  _

“Tony?” Stephen asked after a solid minute, starting to feel slightly awkward standing in complete silence with the unreadable genius. 

“Sorry got lost in thought,” Came the immediate response as Tony stopped talking to himself in favor of concentrating on the matter at hand. 

Stephen hummed. “Alright, come on,” Stephen said his voice leaving no room for an argument as he made his way into the kitchen.

Tony frowned in confusion, but followed the man anyway. “What are you doing, Merlin?” 

“I am making you something to eat, Stark, since Peter was telling me you don't actually have the ability to cook for yourself,” Stephen snarked back. 

“First of all, why are you talking with the kid about me?” He asked as they reached the kitchen. “Second of all, I  _ can  _ feed myself you know.”

“He said you burnt the omelette the other day when he stayed over,” Stephen pointed out with half a smile.

“Yes and then I took him to the best diner in Queens. The kid was well fed, so my point stands; I can feed myself,” Tony said, in an almost petulant tone.

“When was the last time you sat down for a meal?” Stephen asked seriously as he reached the kitchen, turning around and leaning against the counter to face Tony.

Tony fought the irrational urge to stick his tongue out. Stephen for his part only smiled at his small, but significant, victory. “Now, what would you like to eat?” 

Tony shrugged. “Whatever, mom. I don't really care. As long as you don’t poison it, it should be fine.” 

Stephen couldn’t help but snort at that. “Pity, all my best recipes involve a little poison,” he said sarcastically as he began opening cabinets to look for pots and pans. 

Tony watched with no small amount of wonder and trepidation as Stephen seemingly made himself at home, pulling out whatever edible things he could find. Tony was so stunned by seeing the man so at ease he did not initially notice the fact that the man’s cloak had decided to come off his shoulders and was slowly making his way to Tony. Once he did notice, however, he had to fight the need to call the suit. 

“Strange why the hell is your cloak levitating on its own, and why is it trying to come to me?” Tony bit out as he backed away a few steps. 

Stephen, who was crouched looking at the lower cabinets in the pantry, turned to look at Tony with a frown on his face. “It’s a sentient cloak, Tony. It doesn’t always like sitting still on my shoulders. I thought I mentioned it.”

“No you most definitely didn’t,” Tony said as he walked towards the large Island in the middle of the kitchen. “Would you quit following me? I don’t have any cloak treats,” Tony told the cloak directly in a stern tone. “What do you even call this thing?”

“The cloak of levitation,” Stephen said as he rose from his crouch, carrying a box of pasta and a handful of spices. 

“That’s a handful,” Tony grumbled as he edged away yet again. “Seriously, why are you so keen on following me? Go make your master warm, or something.” 

“It hates being near me when I cook. The smell sticks to it. Don’t worry Tony, it won’t hurt you,” Stephen assured him, confused as to why Tony seemed so keen on not letting the cloak touch him. 

Tony looked dubiously at the garment, clearly not placated by Stephen’s comment. The cloak stopped a few feet away from Tony, however, sensing his distress. It tilted slightly to the side, as if trying to ask if Tony was okay, before floating away another few inches to give the man enough space. Tony gaped slightly, but sat down in one of the breakfast chairs, dividing his attention between watching Stephen cook and watching the clock quietly wait near Tony. 

Neither seemed to be bothered by the staring; in fact, they didn’t seem to be paying him any attention. Stephen was fluttering around the kitchen, levitating items here and there to cook. It was the first time Tony noticed the intermittent tremor on the man’s hands. He had seen the man’s hands shake before, but he had not realized it was so constant or so strong. 

He did not stare much, though, assuming it would probably make Strange uncomfortable, considering the man had never taken his yellow gloves off in front of Tony. He certainly still wasn’t comfortable with people looking at his chest. 

“You are rather quiet today, Stark,” Stephen mentioned once he began serving their food. In all honesty, he had not minded the quiet at all; it had helped keep him concentrated on the cooking, which he was still getting used to doing with magic. 

“I am too shocked that you didn’t poison my food to say anything,” Tony teased as he accepted the plate Stephen was offering. “Thank you, Strange.”

The man nodded, and sat down on the left side of the breakfast Island with his own plate of food. “Have you seen Peter recently?”

Tony shook his head. “I just came back to the states a few days ago, and I have been locked in my workshop. May - his aunt - texted me, though. She wants me to pass by for dinner this weekend.” 

Stephen nodded with a smile. “Good, the boy has been getting very annoying about not seeing you.” 

“You never did tell me how is it that you and Peter suddenly started hanging out when I left for Wakanda.” 

“Well I had very little to do with it, and I doubt I have a choice in the matter,” Stephen said drily before taking a bite of food. “He spent a day looking for the Sanctum.” 

Tony frowned. “You mean he didn’t know the address?” 

“No, he never saw the outside of the Sanctum. The first time I took him there he was injured, thus we used a portal directly inside, and to get to the compound we also used a portal. I never thought it necessary for him to know where I lived.” 

Tony’s brows shot up. “Wait, so are you telling me he went knocking on doors all over New york City to find your batcave?” 

Stephen huckled at the mental image. “No, nothing so disastrous as that. I believe he and Karen went swinging around the city until they found a building which her technology could not penetrate.” 

“That is incredibly time consuming, but not the worst plan I have heard,” Tony mused as he continued munching on his food. “So, what, now he spends his free time there when I’m not here? I didn’t peg you for the type to stand being around teenagers.” 

“I am not. They are loud and idiotic, but I will admit Peter is… not the worst company,” The wizard said with a twitch of his lips. “Besides, I have no say on whether he can come or not. The first time he came, he brought cupcakes and cookies baked by his aunt - and salvaged by his friend Ned I believe he said-” 

“Wait he brought you May’s food? Oh god, please tell me you didn’t eat it. She tries her best, but it just… never works out,” Tony said, making a face as he remembered the last time she had baked for him. 

“Well, it seems she made them alongside Ned and Peter, so the outcome was not a complete disaster. I myself did not eat them, but Wong enjoyed them, and he was touched by the gesture, so he is the one that has essentially given Peter a carte blanche to come to the Sanctum whenever he wants.” 

Tony couldn’t help but chuckle. “Well, thank you again for keeping an eye on him while I was gone. I do have to ask you though, to please keep a close eye on him if he is visiting you. I imagine you have magi juju stuff lying around, and I don’t want Peter to touch or interact with anything magic.” 

Stephen raised a brow, trying not to get offended. “Would it really be so terrible for the boy to be interested in magic?”

“Yes,” Tony replied immediately, before wincing slightly. “Look, no offense to you or your magical jazz hands, but magic is not exactly safe, not in my experience, and my job is to keep Peter safe. I cannot protect him if I don’t understand the medium he is using; I could not teach him how to use magic properly. I built him his suit because I know he will take on bad guys no matter what I say, and I need to keep him as safe as possible. I can’t build him something to help with magic, and I sure as shit don’t want him involved with the type of threats you deal with in your line of work.” 

Stephen bit his tongue; while he did not agree with everything Tony was saying, he could understand the man not wanting Peter to get into even more danger. And, whether Stephen liked it or not, magic brought with it many dangers, as many unseen enemies suddenly became very real for those that learned to master the mystic arts. 

“Come with me,” Stephen said after almost a full minute of silence, getting up and moving their dirty dishes to wash later. 

“Where are we going?” Tony asked as he followed the man out of the kitchen. 

“To my home,” Stephen answered simply as he pulled out the sling ring and quickly created a portal.

Tony’s eyes widened at that, but he made sure his pavlovian fearful response did not show outwardly. “Right now? Why would I want to go into your sex dungeon, Mr. Grey?” 

Stephen threw an utterly unimpressed glare at Tony. “If it was actually a sex dungeon, I doubt I would have to do anything to convince you to go in, Stark.” 

Tony gaped at the man, unable to keep a smile off his face. “My my, doctor, are you flirting with your patient?” 

Stephen rolled his eyes. “Please leave me out of whatever weird sexual fantasy you may have with doctors. I am merely pointing out the fact that your sexual proclivities are not exactly a secret so your jab was weak at best.” 

“Stop being so touchy and tell me why do you want me to go with you?” Tony insisted. 

“Because if you don’t see the Sanctum yourself you will freak out every time Peter drops by and I would rather not deal with that,” Stephen said with a sigh. “Just… use the portal please, and we can get this over with.” 

Tony hit something on his watch and waited for a few seconds, before the suit came flying in, coming to a halt next to Tony like a silent protector. “Alright let’s go.” 

“You’re not seriously coming with the suit?” Strange asked, wondering just how deep Tony’s aversion against magic ran. This wasn’t normal, if you asked him. 

Tony took a deep breath once he was through the portal, feeling his body clench up automatically at the very idea of being in a wizard’s lair. “Strange, for once, just stop questioning me,” Tony bit out once the man closed the portal. “You have me here, now what?” 

“Just walk with me, Stark,” Stephen replied drily. He took Tony through some of the rooms, slowly, telling him bits of information about some of the relics, and some of the books Peter seemed interested in. 

Tony had said nothing since the beginning of their little tour, which would not have generally bothered Stephen, but he could see the already usually stressed man tensing to unhealthy levels. The doctor bit his lip, unsure if they were close enough for him to pry but knowing deep down it was his job to ask as the sorcerer supreme. He guided Tony to his studio and pointed towards the armchairs so that the man could sit.

“You have a visceral reaction against magic, which makes me thing you have been exposed to it before in a very dangerous way,” Stephen said slowly as he sat down on the armchair that gave its back to the window. “I know this might not be a comfortable question but, as the Sorcerer Supreme, I  _ must  _ ask; when and how were you exposed to magic?” 

Tony sat back on the chair, bringing his left hand up to scratch his thumb against his bottom lip. “Loki was our first encounter with magic. His ability to control people’s minds was… unsettling at best. He tried to control my mind, but it didn’t work. I never found out why; I assume it had something to do with the reactor,” Tony said, his eyes somewhere far away. 

“I have encountered Loki before,” Stephen revealed. “He came to exile his father here on earth.” 

Tony’s eyes snapped sharply back to reality. “Calm down, he did this long before I became sorcerer supreme. He has not come back to earth since then, and Odin’s power is completely depleted. The man lives as any other mortal.” 

“Did you never stop to consider the fact that Loki might have overthrown his father?” Tony said, his voice raising. 

“It is likely,” Stephen agreed. “But what happens in their planet does not concern me. We have no way of getting there, and no reason to intervene. In fact, intervening would most likely be seen as an act of aggression on the part of Earth.” 

“Thor should be warned,” Tony reasoned. 

“And how exactly do you want to contact him? He left the planet after the debacle with Ultron and no one has heard from him since. Our job is to ensure the safety of earth. Odin poses no threat and so long as Loki does not come back, neither does he. Besides, if he ever does come back, he will have to deal with  _ me,”  _ Stephen ended, his eyes flashing dangerously. 

Tony didn’t seem entirely placated, but he nodded all the same. “Just keep me updated on what happens with that man.” 

Stephen nodded in agreement. “I know you knew the magic user in the Avengers. I was told she had begun misguidedly using her magic. Is that why you are not keen on the field?” 

Tony laughed, a bitter jarring sound that left Stephen feeling hollow. “Yes, you could say she is the reason why I detest magic so much,” Tony said acidically. “God, we never did talk about her did we? Cap’s precious  _ child _ .” 

“I am afraid I am not following,” Stephen admitted, sure that he had just stepped on a minefield. 

“She is a Sokovian citizen. Well, was, I think they expatriated her,” Tony mused. “Her parents died on a bomb raid, and the bombs that killed them were made by my company,” Tony started slowly, his eyes flashing with guilt. “I… I had left my company in the hands of a man I should have never trusted and many people died because of my mistake. Naturally, she blamed me for their death.”

“Naturally?” Stephen said with a frown. “You didn’t fire the bomb.” 

“No but they were my missiles that were being sold to terrorists,” Tony explained. 

Stephen’s frown deepened. “Without your knowledge.” 

Tony shook his head. “I should have known.” 

“Perhaps, but you didn’t. You cannot blame yourself for a missile you didn’t fire, and a sale you didn’t make. That is ridiculous, Stark.” 

Tony smiled weakly. “Well, whatever the case, she blamed me, and she wanted revenge. She joined HYDRA and allowed them to use her as a test subject, where she developed her magic. It’s… not like yours. Her power comes from the stone which is now encrusted on Vision’s head.”

“She willingly allowed a terrorist organization to use an infinity stone on her? Is she insane? Why the hell would you allow her on the team?!” Stephen snapped. 

“First of all, Strange, I was never consulted on whether she should join the team or not,” Tony replied angrily. “That was Roger’s call. I wasn’t… I left the team after that. I took a step back.” Tony rubbed his neck. “In her defense, she didn’t know it was an infinity stone.”

“It was a dangerous magical object held by a terrorist organization! Nothing can excuse her behavior,” Stephen bit out angrily as hundreds of years of knowledge reminded him just how dangerous magic could be in young, untrained, immature hands.

Tony raised his hands in an appeasing motion. “I am not disagreeing with you. I am just saying the magnitude of her actions were likely not in her mind, as her single goal was to destroy me.” 

“How exactly did you find her?” 

“I didn’t. She found us. She was working with Ultron. She helped give him a body. She…” Tony raised one hand and gestured towards his head, screwing his eyes shut. “She showed me things… visions... “ Tony shuddered. “I saw the world end, Strange, and it was all because I didn’t do enough,” he whispered, unsure why he was telling the wizard so much. 

Tony stood up then, feeling far too uncomfortable to continue with the conversation. “The point is I did regrettable things because of her magic. And I have seen just how deadly she can be, so no, I don’t like magic and I don’t want Peter getting mixed up with it. It’s been nice seeing your home, weird as it is, but I should get going. I have a meeting with Hope Van Dyne later today.” 

Stephen stood up, and reached out, not quite touching the other man. “Tony wait,” he said softly, his voice almost desperate. “Look I know this is… Thank you for confiding in me. I know this is not something you want to continue talking about, but I need to ask you to let me look you over.” 

Tony looked at Stephen as if he had grown a third head. “What?” 

“Magic, when used on a person, often leaves residues, Tony. It’s like… like a signature, an imprint that remains behind. If she penetrated your mind, and implanted images in your head then I  _ need  _ to make sure she did not leave any imprints behind. I need to make sure she didn’t do lasting damage.” 

Tony backed away slowly, the new information sending him into a panic. What the  _ fuck  _ had she done to him. “I… not today,” he choked out. “I can’t do this today. I need… I need air. Tomorrow we can talk okay?” He pleaded before walking out of the room and into the waiting arms of his suit. 

He scrunched his eyes closed as the suit pushed oxygen into his lungs. “Tomorrow,” he repeated one last time, mostly to assure himself, before jumping down to the bottom floor and all but running to the door to get out of the Sanctum. 

Stephen did not try to pursue the man, understanding that he needed a minute alone. He sighed when he heard the door downstairs slam shut; everything made so much more sense now. This was why Stark had freaked out when he had first saved Peter. This was why he still wasn’t fully comfortable when around the wizard. 

He shook his head. He couldn’t undo the past, but he could work on showing his friend - and yes, in the privacy of his mind he could admit to himself that he now considered the genius a friend - that magic wasn’t all bad. He would have to earn the man’s trust a little bit at a time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos always appreciated!


	9. Purging

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "When the world is so complicated, the simple gift of friendship is within all of our hands."   
> \- Maria Shriver

“Well you look like shit,” Hope said in what she hoped was a teasing tone as she came to sit next to Tony Stark on a park bench near the water. 

Tony smiled tiredly. “And you look dashing enough for the both of us.” 

She snorted. “Does that ever work?” 

“When I am actually trying, yes” Tony said with a shark smile that elicited a small laugh from the younger woman. 

She took out a manilla folder from her purse and handed it to Tony. “This is the initial draft for my contract. I would like you and your team of lawyers to look it over, to make sure I am covering all bases.” 

“I am surprised you would trust me to hold your best interests at heart, what with me being a Stark and all,” Tony said in a teasing tone, though they both knew he meant it. 

“I am not my father, Mr. Stark, and you are not yours. I don’t see the point in holding his grudges. Besides, as far as I know, my father’s first meeting with you was a few days ago when you brought over the documents for us to sign. I have absolutely no reason to mistrust you,” Hope said candidly, keeping her eyes on the still water. 

Tony nodded after a few seconds. “Call me Tony, then.” 

“Only if you call me Hope,” the woman said as she extended her perfectly manicured hand - a truce of sorts, which Tony was more than happy to acquiesce to.

He was bone tired of fighting the people that were supposed to be on the same side as him. He had expected there to be a great deal of animosity between himself and Pym's progeny, mostly because the man hated him so much despite never having taken the time to meet Tony. He was sure Hank Pym had raked him, and his father, through the coals. So, the fact that Hope refused to take her Father's word at face value and instead wanted to work with Tony before forming her opinions was very encouraging. 

“I know it may be early for this, and I know you came to meet about the Accords, but I was hoping we could talk about… well you helping us with our quantum tunnel.” 

Tony smiled in understanding. “We can talk about the Accords later. The main thing was to get you on board. After I review your contract and submit it to the UN, I can add you to the roster. You'll have to visit the compound soon, so we can get you settled and we can get a schedule going, but that can wait for a few days. Tell me, how can I help?” 

Hope bit her lip. “Well… it has to do with Scott Lang.” 

Tony's face remained impassive as he said “The man that used your father's technology in Germany?”

“That very same idiot,” Hope said, a trace of bitterness in her voice. “Look a while ago, Scott went subatomic and he managed to come back. We had thought it was impossible to do, but he did it,” Hope said, her voice trembling slightly. “While he was there he… he saw things, and we think it’s possible my mom is alive - trapped there in whatever subatomic world Scott was in,” Hope explained, trying to keep a lid on her excitement. “We think if we can build a tunnel powerful enough, then we can get her out.”

Tony nodded in understanding, though he didn’t seem to be fully convinced. “If there really is a subatomic world, how exactly are you going to find her? I assume you have a limited window where you could theoretically get in and out, without getting trapped down there yourself.”  

Hope bit her lip. “We don’t know yet. We are still figuring out how to even stabilize the tunnel, but that's not the part I need your help with.”

“Well color me interested,” Tony said as he leaned back on the bench, looking away from Hope to look at the water.

She took a deep breath and said “I need to be able to communicate with Scott Lang,” she admitted in a low murmur. “He's the only one that has been down there. And, as angry as I am at him, we need to know as much as we can about the quantum realm. And, once we manage to make a Tunnel, we might need Scott again.” 

Tony clicked his tongue against his teeth but otherwise remained impassive. “He turned himself in, correct?”

She nodded. “He's under house arrest for the next two years, and he is not allowed to have any contact with the Avengers or with us. All in all they were pretty lenient with him, mostly because he was misinformed as to why he was there in the first place.”

Tony nodded. “I… can't promise you anything, but I will look into his case so that we can start working on amending his sentence.” 

Hope released a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. “Thank you, Tony. I realize you probably hate Scott for what happened in Germany-”

“I don't,” Tony admitted with a sigh. “Look, I don’t know the guy. Out of everyone that was there, he’s the one I have no real reason to hold a grudge against. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time-”

“By choice,” Hope pointed out, not as willing as Tony to overlook the man’s mistakes. 

Tony smiled softly and shrugged. “I don’t know why he decided to go, Hope. What I  _ do  _ know is that, based on the statements he gave the UN, he had not read the accords, and he thought he was there to help Captain America.” Tony rubbed his forehead. “Honestly, I have never given Lang more than a passing thought, and I am not planning to waste my energy trying to understand him. He owned up to his actions, which is more than what I can say for the rest of Rogers’ team, so I don’t mind helping you try to change his sentence.”

She nodded. “Still, thank you, Tony. You barely know me and yet you are helping me.”

“I am pretty sure soon enough I will be calling in the favor when you join the roster,” Tony said with a tense laugh.  “Besides, helping Pym’s daughter must have Howard rolling in his grave, which is a plus in my books most of the time.” 

Hope snorted. “Man do I know that feeling,” she said with a rueful smile. “I used to hate my father up until recently,” she admitted, unsure as to why she was admitting this to Tony Stark of all people. “After what happened with my mother he… well things were bad between us. Still is hard, at times to see eye to eye. But, he’s all the family I have left - well, and my mother if we manage to find her.” 

“I sincerely hope you do,” Tony told her honestly. “I don’t think one can ever be too old to need their mother.” 

Hope half gaped  half stared at the man as realization suddenly hit her; if there was one person on earth that understood her struggle, it was Tony Stark. The man had lost his mother at a still young age, and had been thrust immediately into leading his father’s corporation. His grief had been public consumption, and his struggles had been the very stones both enemies and strangers could throw at him from their glass houses. Yes, he had been older than Hope when losing his mother, but he had needed her just as much. He had been thrust into the cold unknown, with no one to trust, no one to turn to but himself and his technology.

She felt a wave of unbidden affection and sympathy surge through her as she regarded Tony’s tired eyes - there was a world of hurt there, that he obviously kept tightly lidded and close to his heart. It was a natural and unconscious thing for her to stand up then and breach the gap between them to give him a hug. 

Tony froze stiff immediately, too used to touch being used only to hurt and torture him. But, after a second, he forced himself to relax minutely, patting Hope awkwardly in the back before she released him. She blushed slightly, clearly surprised by her own actions. 

Tony pulled out his sunglasses and avoided eye contact as he said “Well this has been fun. I will read over your contract tonight, and send you any comments tomorrow.”

She nodded, thank you for the man’s lack of comment on her actions. “That sounds good. I will see you soon then, Tony.

The man nodded and took a step back before saluting. He turned around and walked quickly out of the park, the speed doing nothing to hamper his swag. 

* * *

“I can’t believe I am doing this. I think I am going to be sick,” Tony said as he paced from one side of the room to the other, looking white as a sheet. “Perhaps we should call it quits.”

“We haven’t done anything yet, Tony. Take a deep breath, and drink your tea. It will help calm your nerves,” Stephen said in what he hoped was a soothing tone.

Tony picked up the cup with shaky hands, stopping his movements before the cup touched his lips. “Does this tea have any magic bullshit in it? Because if it does, then I don’t want it.”

Stephen couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “It is just tea, Tony,” he replied drily as he himself took a cup and then blew on it before taking a sip. “Now drink it and clear your mind.” 

“How am I supposed to clear my mind, when you are about to go inside it?” Tony half snapped at him, panic etched into his voice.

Stephen wanted nothing more than to hit his head against the table. “Alright have some of the tea and follow me,” he said, a hint of exasperation in his voice as he stood up. “Are there any unused bedrooms we can use?” Stephen’s eyes narrowed at the sparkle in Tony’s eyes. “Don’t even  _ think  _ about making an innuendo right now.” 

Tony all but pouted. “Spoilsport,” he said but guided Stephen to one of the spare bedrooms in the compound. 

“Alright, lay down,” Stephen said as the cloak slid off his shoulders while he took off his gloves. “And take off your shirt.” 

“You really have to give me some leeway with the innuendos, Strange. This shit writes itself,” Tony muttered under his breath as he did as he was told. 

Truth be told, he wasn't comfortable with taking his shirt off in front of anyone - not after Siberia. The vibranium shield had done a number on his already battered chest, Which had weakened his entire chest cavity to the point that Tony was seriously considering putting the reactor back in both as a failsafe and to add sturdiness to his cavity.

But Stephen had explained beforehand what the process entailed, so it wasn't like Tony could simply back out now just because of his shirt. Honestly, he had other better reasons to back out - like the fact that Stephen was about to go into his goddamn mind. 

He threw his shirt carelessly on the floor and hopped on the perfectly made bed, screwing his eyes shut as he tried to think of anything but what was about to happen. 

Stephen could see just how tense Tony was, so he was doubly appreciative of the man's attempt at trusting Stephen with his safety. Yet that also added an extra layer of anxiety because if he fucked this up in any way shape or form the doctor would never forgive himself. 

Stephen quietly made his way to the bed, climbing atop Tony with surprising ease. He settled himself past Tony's pelvic area, making sure to keep his weight off of the man's body. 

He scowled at the mischievous look Tony was throwing him. “Yes, I am aware this writes itself,” Stephen said with a sigh.

“I am proud of you for being able to admit it,” Tony teased before tensing again when Stephen clapped his hands together before moving them apart in a circular motion, a field of glyphs appearing in between them. He brought them close together again, forming a triangle with his fingers. 

Stephen closed his eyes and brought his hands down to touch Tony's biceps. The glyphs followed his hands, rushing to touch any part of Tony's chest they could find. Tony sucked in a harsh breath as he felt Stephen's magic softly caress his skin, feeling no small amount of surprise at the fact that the touch wasn't painful. If anything the man's magic felt… nice, like a soft, cool caress against his quickly warming skin. 

Stephen opened his eyes and brought his right hand from Tony's bicep up to his heart while bringing the left one to Tony's forehead. He pressed against Tony, hard enough for Tony to feel every tremor in the wizard's hands but not hard enough to hurt.

The glyphs began to glow then, their touch becoming harder - more of a massage than a caress. They moved across Tony's skin, looking for something Tony couldn't see. A few of them made their way up Tony's neck, then across his face and then up further to his head. 

He felt a small pinch inside his brain, and then a red mist came floating out of his head, pouring out of Tony like sweat. 

The glyphs caught the mist, slowly leaving Tony's body to wrap themselves around the mist floating to the side of Tony's head. The glyphs did not look as friendly now, as they began crippling the mist into nothingness.

A minute or two later, Stephen brought his hand away from Tony's head, giving him a small smile. “It is done. I removed all traces of her magic from your brain. Now that I know the signature, it may be easier to find her.” 

Tony swallowed hard, unsure as to how to feel. He was sure he was somewhere between terrified and aroused as fuck. He had not expected to be touched so… so  _ right. _ Stephen's magic had done wonders on his abused muscles, leaving him relaxed and  _ very  _ aware that he had a rather attractive man straddling his thighs.

He had no idea what to do with this information. He also had no idea how to get Stephen off of him without the man realizing Tony was half hard already. 

_ Why the fuck did these things happen to him? _

“Um, thank you,” Tony said, his voice sounding a lot hoarser than he would have liked. 

“Sir? The information you requested has finished processing,” Friday piped up, giving Tony the perfect opening to leave.

Stephen placed his hands on Tony's abdomen to get off the man, which did nothing to calm Tony's suddenly raging hormones. He just hoped the Doctor hadn't noticed. It would make this situation a hundred times more awkward. 

“Right, well, Thank you Doc Mcstuffins. I… uh, should get going. I need to check on those documents. Thank-you-lunch on Friday alright?” Tony babbled, realizing too late that what he had said.

Damn it all, he would have to see Strange again by the end of the week.

“Sure,” the wizard agreed as he opened a portal, giving Tony a half worried look. He wasn't sure what was up with the man, but he assumed it had to do with the fact that Stephen's magic made him uncomfortable. He likely needed a minute to collect himself, and was politely trying to get rid of the wizard. Still, he appreciated the fact that Tony was making an effort to get over his fear of magic. 

And, all in all, Stephen could admit to himself that he thoroughly enjoyed Stark's company. Plus, he could admit - to himself only thank you very much - that Tony was more than easy on the eyes; thus, lunch with the man was actually something he could already feel himself looking forward to. 

Stephen scrunched up his nose in distaste; he had forgotten what it was like to actually _want_ friends. 

Tony for his part all but ran to his workshop, leaving the wizard to find his way back home alone. “Alright baby girl, show me what we’re working with,” Tony said as he locked the door to his workshop behind him.

Friday immediately pulled up all of the files, filing the room with blue light. “The formula is not stable, sir.” 

“No, it never was,” Tony agreed readily as he threw his shirt back on. “But I have never worked on it,” he said with a small smile as he began making small annotations on the margins of the holographic sheet. 

Part of him couldn’t believe he was doing this. It was… well it was an insane plan is what it was, but he felt he had reached the point where Insanity was a viable option. If there was something Siberia had showed him is that he was far too weak. Yes, he hadn’t truly been trying to kill the two super soldiers, but his suit was in dire need of an upgrade and, more importantly, so was his body. Rogers and company were nothing compared to what he had seen in that wormhole in space; they were nothing compared to the threat Tony was sure was coming soon.

And, while the nanomite technology he was developing was indeed state of the art, and more than enough to lay waste anything Earth threw at him, he needed his body to be more sturdy. He needed his body to evolve with his ever-better armor.

But Killian's formula was a huge risk, considering what he had seen but a few years ago. 

Tony sat down, a pencil behind his ear. “Fry pull up every single study we have of Maya Hansen. Also pull up Pepper's medical reports from when she had Extremis, and the medical reports of when we took it out.”

Tony had figured out a safe way to get it out of her body, that much was true, but he had never attempted to perfect the formula; it hadn’t been necessary, and it wasn’t his field of study. He also hadn’t needed the formula at the time. 

Tony cursed under his breath, getting up to pick up a cup of coffee as Friday downloaded all the files he had requested. He came back a few minutes later, having taken a detour to pat Dum-E’s claw before getting back to his desk. He drank a long gulp of coffee and got to work. 

* * *

“You know when you mentioned lunch, I did not expect this,” Stephen said, his voice as dry as the dead sea. 

Tony jumped a mile high on his seat, accidentally dropping his coffee cup in his rush to raise his hand, gauntlet at the ready. “What the  _ fuck,  _ Strange. A little warning next time. I could have blown your head off,” Tony said as he slowly brought his hand down. “Why the hell are you in my workshop? How did you get in here?” 

“I used a portal to get inside,” Stephen said as if it was obvious. “It is Friday Tony; I came by because you asked me to do so, only to find out you have been cooped up here since I left almost  _ three days ago.”  _

Tony blinked in confusion. Three days? Fucking hell, he hadn’t even realized that much time had passed. He had a few lapses in his memory, when he assumed he had passed out, but aside from that and bathroom breaks, he had not stopped in three days straight.

He winced. “I have been busy. I didn’t realize that much time had passed.”

Stephen sighed. “Look, I get it. I lose track of time as well, but three days is a long time, Tony. Your body will collapse soon if you don’t eat something and sleep for longer than an hour at a time.”

Tony nodded distractedly, his eyes once again finding his project. He wasn’t done, not by a long shot, but he was sure of one thing; he couldn’t administer extremis to himself without someone present in the room. Even if he managed to solve all the problems, it would still be an untested formula, and it could go very wrong very fast. 

He knew he could call Rhodey, who was still not back from his “find and speak with carol” mission which Fury had put him on, but he wasn’t sure whether his friend would approve. Not to mention, given the way Fury had talked about the woman and the way Rhodey had described her character, it was far more important for them to recruit her than for Rhodey to be there. Besides, realistically speaking, the man was not a Doctor. What he needed was Maya Hansen in the room, but the woman was dead. 

Tony’s eyes strayed back to Stephen; at this point, he could admit to himself that he trusted the man, but could he trust him with this? Would Stephen be just like the rest, quick to judge before even understanding what Tony was trying to do? 

“Tony?” Stephen asked slowly, noticing the man’s faraway gaze. 

“I may need your help with something,” Tony began, his body language completely closed off. “It’s a… project I have been working on. It’s not done yet, but I should have it ready in a week or two.” 

Stephen pierced Tony with his deep blue eyes, considering the man’s words carefully. “I am available next weekend. I can take a look at whatever it is,” he agreed. 

Tony noticed he had not exactly agreed to help him; he had agreed to  _ listen _ , which was a promising start, all in all. To be honest, he was a little surprised the man hadn’t attempted to pry more information out of Tony. He had not needed an explanation as to why Tony might need his help, nor had he needed to immediately know what it was that Tony was working on.

Stephen, Tony realized, trusted him; he trusted Tony’s mind, and his technology. He trusted Tony to have the world’s best interest at heart in whatever it was that he was doing. He wasn’t someone who would blindly follow; he liked to listen, understand, and then form an opinion, which was why he hadn’t agreed to offer his help straight away, but the man wasn’t suspicious of Tony or his intentions. That seemed to be a non issue. 

It warmed Tony a little inside to know this man who had known him for less than three months likely trusted him more than most of the people he had worked with when the Avengers had still been a team. 

“Right, okay, good,” Tony said, releasing a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. “So, lunch?” 

“You need to shower first, immediately,” Stephen said, not giving an inch as he walked to the door of the workshop. 

“Aw, do you want to join me doctor?” Tony couldn’t help but tease. 

Stephen did not deign to give the man an answer. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Chapter! I hope you like it! I hope to have 1-2 more chapters out before the new endgame movie hits theaters. I will continue the story no matter what happens in the movie, as I already have written the full outline for this fic :D


	10. Call me Carol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "We click
> 
> There aren't many people that you just 'click' with, and when you find those people, you just don't let them go."

“Incoming kid,” Tony said with a smirk that only grew wider when the turtle shell hit Peter’s mario on the screen. “Yes, baby! It’s my turn to shine now,” Tony said to no one in particular.

Peter snorted. “In your dreams, Mr. Stark,” he said as he flipped his tongue from one side of his mouth to the other - a tick that always made an appearance when they were playing video games.

It was another two tension filled minutes before Tony whooped in excitement, dropping the control on his lap in favor of raising both of his arms above his head as he continued to excitedly cheered. Peter rolled his eyes at the man, but smiled nonetheless.

“Best two of three?” He asked, half meekly, not sure whether he could impose even more on Tony’s time.

He had been given permission by May to spend the weekend at the compound with Tony, both to train and to spend some time with his mentor. Ever since the trip to Wakanda a few weeks back, he hadn’t seen much of the man, which had left Peter feeling slightly off - something which May was very aware of because she was May and she knew fucking everything.

Tony was slowly but surely becoming a regular, stable fixture in his, well  _ their  _ life, especially now that May knew about Spider-Man. He was there whenever May called, either due to an injury, worry, or just for a day out. She knew Tony was still reeling from what had happened with the Avengers, and from not being able to fix things with Pepper. The man was, in many ways, as unstrung as his nephew; they both needed each other, and they needed her to help them along. Peter was one of the few lights left in his life, and Tony for his part was the first male parental figure Peter had found since his parent’s death.

It was a relationship May treasured, which is why she had taken it upon herself to make sure it bloomed in a natural, healthy way despite everyone’s hang ups and past traumas. That included at times letting Peter go from the safety of her home - which was safe because it was a random inconspicuous flat in queens - to Tony’s own manhattan apartment, or to the compound so that they could trust each other more easily, communicate more openly.

Still, these sly exercises in trust often made Peter double guess himself, because the last thing he wanted was to impose on Tony’s precious time, as all he ever saw the man do was worry or work. Tony, however, always dismissed the kid’s worries, by simply being there, seemingly unconcerned with whatever else he had to do - at least when Peter was watching.

Which is why he simply smiled at Peter and ruffled his hair to embarrass the kid as he said  “Of course, but be prepared to lose, Parker.”

Before Peter could answer, or even move his head away from where Tony was still trying to get his hair to spazz out, Friday piped up “Colonel Rhodes is back, sir. He is on the elevator on his way up with Captain Danvers.

Tony froze for a second, before his playful demeanor disappeared behind his usual business mask. He stood up then, half hiding Peter from view. He put his hands in his pockets, and waited for the elevator doors to open. It wasn’t that he was predisposed to distrust the woman Fury had first suggested, but, after the avengers and SHIELD and all the other bullshit, he wasn’t sure he trusted Fury’s judgement in the slightest.

The man had been the one to bring the Avengers together in the first place - and look at how that had turned out. The only reason Tony had readily agreed to send Rhodey on this weeks long mission, that had only a moderate chance of success, was because Rhodey had recognized the name of the former Air Force Pilot.

Tony plastered a smile on his face as soon as the elevator doors open and Rhodey stepped out, closely followed by a far too young woman, considering she had apparently met Fury over twenty years ago.

He walked towards them, raising a brow at his friend as he said “You sure you got the right woman, platypus? I know you said she was a few years younger than you, but this seems more like a decade younger,” Tony teased before turning to the woman with a winning smile. “You must tell me what skin care products you use, because I need to get me some of those.”

She chuckled, offering her hand to the billionaire “you must be Tony Stark.”

“The one and only,” he confirmed with that press-ready smile of his. “And you are Carol Danvers - or so Fury told me.”

She nodded in confirmation. “Is Fury here? I haven’t seen him in years,” she said as she looked around the room. Her eyes landed on Peter, which spiked her curiosity. “Hi,” she told the kid with a big smile. “What’s your name?”

Peter tried not to gape. He was pretty sure he had never met an adult that seemed so elated to meet a teenager. “Um, hi… Good Morning, Ma'am. I'm Peter,” he said nervously as he stood up and came to stand next to Tony, who couldn’t help but tense up as the other two shook hands.

“So, I am dying to know, how does an air force pilot end up as a glowing space captain,” Tony said nonchalantly once Peter stepped back to his side, unconsciously coming to stand slightly behind Tony, which gave the man the peace of mind necessary to have this conversation.

“With some shit luck. Or awesome luck - depends who you ask,” she deadpanned. “I imagine it a bit of a similar experience to yours. Rhodes told me you are Iron Man? Pretty drastic change you went through there, after a traumatic event.”

“You have one of those too then, huh?” Tony parried back, deflecting the attention away from himself.

She snorted. “One is child’s play. I’m an overachiever.”

Tony couldn’t help but laugh. “So, Captain, what is it that you can do exactly? Fury didn’t explain in detail.”

“Well, for starters, I am kree - or, rather, was made into a half-Kree - so I have all the usual abilities that come with our physiology.”

Tony frowned. “You will have to dumb it down here, because we don’t know what Krees are.”

She smirked slightly but nodded graciously. “The Kree are a race of people that live in a planet called Hala. They are ruled by something called the Supreme Intelligence. They are a highly militaristic society, and I got the majority of my combat training from them as part of their starforce. All Krees are significantly stronger than humans are and, due to the different atmospheric composition levels, we are faster, more agile, and capable of… greater feats.”

“So… you are similar to our enhanced superhumans,” Tony summarized.

She shook her head, that lovely smile still on her face as she brought her hand up, which immediately began to glow, a powerful heat emanating from it. She pointed it to a single open window and fired a single beam to give the man a taste of what she could do. “I can also make things go boom,” she teased, goodnaturedly.

Tony gaped at the open window, having felt the sheer amount of energy concentrated on that single blast, what with being so near the woman. “Is that another Kree ability?”

“No, that is just me,” she said as she brought her hand down. “I… was in an explosion many years ago. It was how I was first introduced to the Kree, actually. They came to earth hunting down a Rogue scientist of theirs who was undercover here on earth. I was piloting her bird. When they shot us down, she tried to destroy the energy core we were carrying with us - but they killed her before she got the chance.” Carol’s eyes were slightly glazed over, as she lost herself in her memory. “I destroyed it for her, but in the process I absorbed the energy inside the core.”

Tony seemed to be hanging onto every word. “How much energy were you exposed to? Was it radioactive? You should not have survived.”

“I still don’t know how I survived, to be quite honest. The core… it was a light speed Engine developed by Dr. Lawson. She used something called the Tesseract to power it, so the core-”

“Wait, hold on, pause,” Tony said, growing pale as he brought his hands up in a perpendicular motion to visually show he wanted her to stop. “Did you just say the Tesseract? As in the cube that holds an infinity stone Tesseract?” Tony said quickly, remembering the images Strange had shown him of the entities.

It was Carol’s turn to look confused. “I… don’t know what you’re talking about. I have never heard of the Tesseract being an infinity stone.”

Tony sighed but waved his hand. “I need to speak with Strange first. If I am right, I will explain everything later. Please continue - you absorbed the energy from the core powered by the Tesseract.”

Danvers nodded, looking unconvinced by Tony’s ressurances of telling her everything later. She disliked being kept in the dark. “That’s pretty much it. I lived and trained with the elite force of the Kree as I had no recollection of my past. I came back to Earth and was able to access the full extent of my powers and my memories. I have learned how to control them for the past twenty years. I left to continue on Mar-vell’s legacy. I came back a few months ago to visit the people I left behind, when I was contacted by Fury. He asked me to not go too far - he said I might be needed,” Carol finished with a small shrug.

“Twenty years… is it another Kree ability to not age?,” Tony asked curiously, crossing his arms.

Carol chuckled. “Yes, the Kree do not age like humans do. Also, with my powers, I age even slower than the Kree so thus far my body has not aged past the day of the explosion.”

“Oh to be young forever,” Tony said with a sigh before shaking his head. “How long are you planning on sticking around here on Earth?”

“I am planning to make Earth my main place of residence again,” She answered honestly. “Colonel Rhodes informed me of the situation, and I want to help. I have responsibilities elsewhere that I do not wish to ignore, so I am not planning on staying put forever, but I won’t be leaving for as long as I did last time. I will regularly check in every few weeks or every few months,” she promised.

Tony hummed. “Is it your intentions to join the Avengers?”

She cocked her head to the side, considering the question. “Fury wants me to do so. I am… not sure yet whether I want to be so tied to down, but, I am not opposed to hearing you out,” She shrugged softly. “If it’s a proposal that fits what I currently need, then yes, I don’t see why that would be a problem. My best friend has spoken well of you, so at the very least I know you're someone I can reason with.”

“Who’s your best friend?” Tony asked curiously.

She chuckled. “Her name is Maria. She was an airforce pilot with me,” Carol explained. “She told me about you once the colonel approached us. She had worked with Rhodey before, so they are on friendly terms. She partially knew you through him. You also have her daughter in one of your bright minds program for graduate students. She has been in your programs since high school, which allowed her to go to MIT for free. She has met you a few times.”

Tony nodded, surprised to hear anyone outside of Rhodey had anything kind to say about him. He was glad, however, that he had left a good impression on the youngest of the three women. It was of great importance to him that young people would feel empowered enough, by him or others, to take the future by storm - to invent, to make things  _ better. _

Tony regarded the younger - older ? - woman standing in front of him, and smiled more genuinely for the first time since she had arrived. He was appreciative of the woman’s honesty. He wasn’t sure yet what to make of her as a whole, but there was no denying she was very powerful. He just hoped they would be able to see eye to eye once the legal jargon came down to suffocate them - and Tony had no doubt it would come. At her level of power, the UN would not allow her to simply use said powers willy nilly. She didn’t seem like a recruit he wanted to lose, but the decision, at the end of the day, would be hers.

“Right, well why don’t we table that discussion for now?” Tony offered, his mind already jumping onto the next move, as the expert businessman that he was. “I imagine you both must be hungry. Peter and I were thinking of grabbing lunch soon, so why don’t you join us? That way we can all get to know each other a little better, and after you and I can speak about the New Avengers initiative.”

If Carol was surprised by Tony’s easiness at her partial rejection of the Avengers proposal, she did not show it. Instead she smiled at the man and said “I could eat.” 

* * *

Carol sat next to Tony on the couch, both their legs up, resting on the low coffee table. Tony had his tie half undone, looking worn to the bone. He had his eyes closed, and he was nursing a cup of coffee that was at this point, barely lukewarm

She looked pensive, her eyes carefully trained on the wall in front of her, despite the fact that her attention was on Tony. She had been at the compound for a week and a half now and, much to her surprise, she found herself more and more attuned with the genius sitting beside her.

The man was a hurricane, running on ten cups of coffee and mental will alone. The Captain could not say she had seen the man sitting beside her rest since the lunch they had gone on with the colonel and Peter, whom she now knew was Spiderman. Tony worked, for the most part in his workshop, but, when he wasn't there, he was often on UN meetings, SI meetings, at social events that required his attention, or with Peter whom he also needed to make time for to nurture. Everyone, friend or foe, seemed to want a piece of the man, and Carol wondered just how much more Tony could take before he broke down.

In a way, he reminded her of herself. She had left with the Skrulls to find them a home, but her powers meant she could help thousands of people; it was the reason it had taken her so long to get back to earth. There was always another fight to be won, another planet to be saved. She had taken on an untold amount of burdens and she had managed everything by sheer force of will.

It was a drive to be better in order to help others that she could not shut off; it was the same drive she saw in this man sitting next to her.

Not only that, but his mind was truly a wondrous thing. He was brilliant, and curious, and self-improving. In all honesty, after just one week, he had both managed to drive Carol up a wall and had made her feel a keen need to be better herself.

It also did not hurt that he had the sweetest best friend possible. She had met Rhodey only in passing when she had been in the air force, as he was a bit older than her, and thus had been further along in his career by the time she had been allowed to fly. They had also worked on very different projects. But, regardless, she was glad she had reconnected with the charming man.

She spent the majority of her time with him - or with him and Tony as the man constantly checked up on the busy genius - and, thus far, she couldn’t say she had gotten bored. He was witty and gallant and, above all, he respected and accepted Carol for who she was; a brash, outspoken, funny half human who cared not just for earth but for the Universe.

“Alright space lady, lay it on me,” Tony said with a half groan as he sat up, opening his tired eyes to regard the woman sitting next to him.

She quirked a brow. “Why do you assume I came to sit with you just to tell you something?”

Tony frowned, not quite sure whether that was a trick question or not. “People don’t tend to want to  _ just  _ sit with me. There’s usually something they want to tell or or something they want from me.”

“Rhodes sits by you all the time,” She pointed out.

“That’s because he’s my Rhodey,” Tony said, as if that explained everything. 

“Well, I don’t want anything from you, and I don’t have anything particularly exciting to tell you,” she said as she sat back more comfortably, closing her eyes. Someone outside of Rhodes, needed to teach this man about healthy Friendship relationships.

Tony stared for a few more seconds, still looking slightly unsure, before he mentally shrugged and sat back against the couch. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, letting Carol’s even breaths lull him into a state of rarely experienced tranquility. They were not close enough to touch - they were not there yet - but they were sitting closer than what Tony would have generally allowed someone that he still considered an acquaintance. There was just something about this woman - something in her very core - that made Tony want to trust her.

Their perfectly companionable silence was broken far too quickly, however, as the sound of a portal and a fast-paced teenage voice broke through their stasis. Tony’s eyes shot open almost immediately, and he turned to look past Carol, towards the sound of the voice. He smiled at the kid despite his exhaustion, and quickly got up to greet him and the wizard.

“What’s up Matilda?” Tony said as he approached Stephen. “I wasn’t expecting either of you today. I assume you both just missed me very much, and nothing bad happened to bring you here.”

“I toppled over an artifact at the Sanctum,” Peter blurted out, still looking mortified. “It kinda broke, and whatever magic was inside it got unleashed so Dr. Strange brought me here.”

Stephen sighed. “Peter, you’re going to give Tony a heart attack if you say it like that. I already told you it was fine; no one was harmed, and Wong has the situation under control. “Stephen turned to face Tony “I did think, however, that you would appreciate Peter being here while the artifact is fixed.”

Tony shot him a grateful look, and then turned to Peter. “You gotta be more careful, Peter. Stephen’s place is crawling with dangerous, unknown artifacts, and I don’t want to get to an early grave because you are breaking shit you shouldn’t touch in the first place. I don’t want you near his magical relics, am I clear?”

Stephen placed his hand on Peter’s shoulder at that, knowing the last thing Peter wanted was to disappoint Tony, which was what the young man was probably assuming. He leaned in closer and whispered low enough for only Peter to hear “he is telling you off because he’s worried, and he dislikes magic, not because he’s disappointed.”

Tony shot Strange a questioning gaze, but did not try to pry in front of Peter, instead he grabbed the kid by the arm, and brought him close to swing his arm around Peter’s neck. “Come on, you have to say hi to the alien, or she’ll eat you for being rude.” 

Carol smiled at Peter while rolling her eyes at Tony. “How are you, Peter? It’s good to see you again.”

Peter smiled at the woman, relaxing in Tony’s half embrace. “You too, ma’am. Are you heading back to Louisiana soon?”

“I am going for a week or two, yes,” she confirmed. “I can’t miss another one of Monica’s birthdays,” she said, her eyes terribly sad for a second. “I should actually start packing. I likely won’t have time tomorrow,” Carol said as she got up.

“You can take one of the jets - if you don’t wanna fly out there yourself,” Tony told the woman, though he knew she would get there on her own.

She was like him in that way - she preferred flying sans airplane.It gave her more control over any airborne type of situation.

“Thanks, Tony,” she said regardless, coming closer to give the man a hug. “Pencil me in for an afternoon when I’m back, and get me an appointment with your lawyers.”

Tony froze, giving her a half disbelieving look. “Are you going to-”

“Yes,” she said with a smirk. “I read them over, and I read your proposal over. The contract you tailored for me… well it sounds like it can work. You’re not tying me to earth, but they know I am a beep away.”

“A call, grandma. It’s the 21st century, get with the program,” Tony teased, but smiled, relieved to hear Carol was on board.   

She snorted. “No, it’s a beep. I gave Fury a pager, and that’s what y’all are getting.”

“Spit on my face why don’t you,” Tony grumbled good naturedly.

Carol only snorted before ruffling Peter’s hair and waving at the two grown men. They watched her go, all smiling softly at her back; she just had that effect on people.

 “Sooo Ice cream?” Tony asked the room at large as he looked at his two mismatched companions. “Assuming there’s no magical crap you have to go deal with.”

“I feel like I have little choice in the matter,” Stephen joked as he poked Peter on the side. “But we’re not eating Stark Raving Hazelnuts.”

“You’re just jealous I have an ice cream flavor named after me and you don’t,” Tony said as he walked to the kitchen, sticking his tongue out at Stephen when he passed him.

Peter followed happily after his mentor, by this point used to the quick back and forth raport the two powerful men had going with each other. At times, like now, they were mellow in their jabs, trading no more than quick, funny shots that made everyone smile. At times, however, their banter could turn vicious and Peter was sure that, if a stranger were to stumble upon them then, they would think the two men hated each other. But Peter knew better; their jabs, no matter how pointed, never held any malicious intent behind them. If anything, the more vicious they got, the more they seemed to enjoy themselves.

Peter didn’t quite get it, but he wasn’t about to question it.

Tony pulled out a liter of ice cream and got out three spuns, ignoring Stephen’s disgruntled noise when the man realized Tony had no intentions of getting them bowls.

“Can we play Mario Kart while we wait for Wong?” Peter asked innocently as all three plopped down on the couch at the same time, all with different levels of exhaustion.

Tony grinned at the kid as he looked down at him “you sure you want the wizard to watch me beat your ass?”

Peter shoved him as he chuckled. “In your dreams, old man.”

“That’s it, Fry, pull up Mario Kart. This kid needs to be taught a lesson.”

Strange levitated the ice cream away from Tony and into his waiting hands, not wanting the two to spill it all on the couch in their roughhousing. He settled comfortably on the couch and smiled softly, feeling warm and at peace for the first time in weeks as he indulged himself in a little bit of ice cream and some very good company.

* * *

“Oh my god!” May exclaimed, dropping the glass of water she had on her hand.

Luckily, Stephen reacted in time to open a portal to avoid having the glass smash. He reopened the portal near his own hand, catching the glass with ease despite his shaky hands. “Sorry about that,” he said as he crossed through the portal to leave the glass on the table.

“Who… what-” she stopped herself as she looked between the Doctor, Peter and Tony, deciding internally it was best not to ask.

“I am Dr. Stephen Strange,” Stephen explained as he extended a hand to properly greet May.

“Oh Peter has told me a bit about you,” she said with a warm smile on her face. “You’re the wizard.”

‘Sorcerer,” Stephen corrected immediately, glaring at Peter.

“Diva,” Tony offered as another alternative, grinning as he looked at May. “It’s good to see you again, May.”

The woman’s smile got bigger at that, and she closed the distance between them by crossing the portal into the compound to give Tony a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I was wondering when you were going to drop by. Don’t think I haven’t noticed how for the past two weeks, you have been spending time with Peter but have  _ not  _ deigned to spend time with me too.”

“I could say the same. You know you are welcome to drop by anytime, and yet you never do” Tony pointed out as he crossed his arms.

“Excuses, excuses,” she teased the man. “Are you both staying for dinner?”

“Not tonight. I have work left to do here,” Tony said regretfully, “but I did order food for both of you so at least you don’t have to cook.”

“You know you didn’t have to do that, right?” May said with a soft shove that made Tony smile. She turned to Strange and deadpanned “I expect you to make him eat tonight, since I won’t be able to check he actually gets something in his system.”

Stephen raised a brow, and refrained to answer. While he had spent a considerable amount of time with the man, he had not realized people would suddenly assumed he was close enough to the man for Tony to give a shit about whether or not Stephen wanted him to eat.

Tony rolled his eyes. “I will have you know I ate a meal-” Tony stopped dead in his tracks, trying to calculate when was the last time he had eaten “-sometime in the last thirty hours,” he finished lamely with a sigh. “Okay, I will eat, and I will try to come by sometime next week” he promised before giving both May and Peter quick hugs. “Get them home, magic man,” Tony asked as he came to stand next to Stephen.

The former Neurosurgeon nodded at both Peter and may, saying his goodbyes before opening the portal for them both. He felt something flutter in his chest when Tony - ever mistrusting tony - barely even tensed as May and Peter walked through the portal. Stephen knew they were nowhere near the man being comfortable with magic, but at least it seemed he was learning to trust in Stephen’s magic. Slowly but surely.

“So,” Stephen began. “You did not contact me last weekend as we scheduled. Are you going to tell me about this super secret project of yours?”

Tony grimaced. “Sorry I didn’t call. With Carol here… I was very busy juggling a lot of things.”

Stephen dismissed the apology with a wave of his hand. “You don’t need to apologize, Tony. Work comes first, I understand that. I still need to meet this woman, by the way,” Stephen reminded him. “If what you told me on the phone is correct then-”

“Her powers might come from an infinity stone, yes I know,” Tony said with a sigh. “The good thing is this freakishly powerful being is on our side for once.”

Stephen snorted. “Careful you might jinx it.”

“Knowing my luck, I probably already did,” Tony said as he beckoned Stephen to follow him with a tilt of his head. “C’mon it will be easier to explain my project in the workshop.”

Stephen nodded, not even offering to portal them there to let Tony set his own pace, and his own terms of how this was going to go. “What’s the name of the project?”

“It’s… well it was called extremis once,” Tony said as he opened the door to his workshop, hating the feeling of vulnerability that suddenly overcame him.

"Well that doesn't sound ominous at all," Stephen said drily as he closed the door behind him, not failing to notice Tony's nervousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are getting so close to Extremis my dudes!! I can't wait for you to see my take on it. I will try my hardest to get the chapter done before the movie hits theaters.


	11. Extremis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I love fools' experiments. I am always making them."  
> \- Charles Darwin

“Extremis is a form of genetic modification,” Tony began as he pulled up one of the videos from Killian fighting. “It helps the cells regenerate at an inhuman speed, while also increasing agility, strength, endurance among other things.”

Stephen moved closer to the video, his eyes narrowing. “Is he…. Heating up?” He asked, looking extremely confused.

“Yes, one of the side effects of Killian’s formula was overheating of the body to… well flammable levels.”

Stephen turned slightly to look at Tony as he said “who made this? I am assuming it was not you. Why are you working on this? Better yet, what exactly are you trying to do with it?”

Tony raised his hands as if to pacify the man. “No, I did not create this formula. I fought the man that did - or rather he fought me. Old grudges and all that,” Tony said with a sigh as he rubbed his eyes. “It’s a long story. The point is I have the formula, and I am working - or was working - on improving it to take out the overheating factor. I also made some modifications to it so that it could more easily accept my nanomites suit,” Tony explained as he pulled up yet another hologram.

Stephen watched, half in awe, as he saw the designs for Tony’s new armor - a somewhat living armor in it of itself that would be housed within the man’s own body. “You want to put the reactor back in permanently?” Stephen asked in surprise.

Tony shook his head, clenching his jaw slightly. “It’s not that I want the reactor back, it’s…” Tony struggled to find the right words. “All my prior suits could be destroyed. They could be penetrated - like Scott did by turning miniature size - and they could be broken. I need a suit that won’t fail like that. I need something that is impenetrable and, that if it’s broken off, it can immediately be reformed. The only solution to that is nanomites.”  

Stephen hummed, still staring at the suit. “Why do you need extremis to work with the nanomites?”

“Because Extremis, aside from granting you faster regeneration, heals prior wounds and if it does not see the reactor as part of me then it will attack it as any antibody would,” Tony explained as he sat back down to make a few more annotations on the papers he had on his desk.

Stephen felt his mouth dry up. “Why on earth would you want to inject yourself with this… thing?” He asked, looking at tony incomprehensibly. “Tony… this is dangerous at best and downright suicidal at worst. I mean these videos are-”

“Not the actual end product,” Tony said a bit forcibly. “Like I said, I have been altering the formula to keep the heating from occurring.”

“Why do you want this?” Stephen pressed again, walking closer to Tony. “Why modify yourself?”

“Because as it stands,  _ we _ don’t stand a chance,” Tony bit out, getting up in a flurry of movement.

“You cannot possibly know that,” Stephen countered, looking annoyed. “You have no idea what is out there. None of us do. You can’t-”

“No idea?! What the hell do you think New York was, a party trick?” Tony screamed at strange. “We were barely able to hold them off then, and there’s even less of us now. If someone is coming for the infinity stones, then they are going to be a lot stronger than Loki and his minions,” Tony growled as he stalked closer to Strange, stopping only once they were but a foot apart. “We are sorely outmatched, Stephen, and you know it. There’s two stones - that we know of - on earth, and I have been living with this nightmare in my head since New York,” Tony half whispered, something inside him screaming in agony at the memories. “I cannot afford to be beaten down again.”

Strange frowned, tilting his head slightly as realization sparkled in his eyes. “This isn’t just about New York, is it? You were never beaten down in New York. If anything you beat  _ them _ down. There’s something you’re not telling me.”

“And since when do I have to tell you everything?” Tony parried back easily, his posture still guarded.

“Since the moment you decided I was the one that has to help you put a dangerous substance into your body that could not only kill you but that will forever alter your very molecular makeup,” Stephen bit out angrily, taking a step closer - close enough to see that Tony’s chocolate eyes had streaks of black and hazel in them. “This may come as a surprise to you, Tony, but I actually give a damn about you.”

Tony deflated at that, shutting his eyes close. “Siberia,” he said finally, after what felt like an eternity.

Stephen’s frowned deepened. “What?”

Tony opened his eyes as he sighed, walking away from Strange to sit back down. “When Rogers left after Germany, he and the Winter Soldier went to Siberia,” Tony explained. “I… wanted to bring them in alive. I found out it wasn’t Barnes that blew up the UN building, so I wanted to help them.” Tony’s eyes glazed slightly as he got lost in the memories. “I found them in an old HYDRA base. We found Zemo there - he was the one that orchestrated everything.”

Stephen nodded, coming to sit down on the bench next to Tony. “What happened there?”

“He showed us a video of my parent’s-” Tony suddenly stopped, gripping the edge of his desk until his knuckles turned white. “My parents did not die in a car crash like I was told - like it was reported,” Tony said softly after a minute, his eyes hardening. “They were murdered by HYDRA - and they sent Barnes in to do the job. He killed… He killed my  _ mom _ .”

Stephen gawked, shock flooding his system. The car crash that had ended the lives of Howard and Maria Stark had been greatly publicized - as had been Tony’s descent into alcohol and drugs shortly after. It was obvious - for a doctor like Stephen - to know that Tony had never processed that, had never been able to grieve properly. Even now it was clear it was still a flaming open wound for the genius. It was a trauma the man had never overcome - and Stephen couldn’t even imagine how horrible it must have been to hear that everything Tony had been told about that had been a lie.

“The worst part is Cap knew,” Tony said with a bitter smile. “He knew the truth for years, and he didn’t… He had a hunch it had been Barnes that they had sent so he didn’t-”

“Oh god,” Stephen stuttered out as he connected all the pieces. So  _ this  _ was the real reason the Avengers had imploded; lies and selfish decisions. 

Tony chuckled hollowly. “Yeah. I… lost it,” Tony admitted, a hint of regret in his eyes. “I hit cap and, for a second, I actually wanted to kill Barnes - or at the very least hurt him like he had hurt me.” Tony shook his head. “They fought back, and it got nasty real fast.” Tony rubbed at his temples, feeling suddenly exhausted. “I could have killed them if I wanted to, but I… well let’s just say I didn’t use all the tricks I had up my sleeve. I realized then, however, that I needed to improve,” Tony said as he looked at Stephen in the eye, his tone pleading for understanding. “My suit needs to be better equipped for hand to hand combat, and the suit itself needed to be able to take more damage. Rogers managed to  _ break  _ my ribs in his quest to destroy the the arc reactor. He managed to completely de-power the suit - that cannot happen again, Stephen. I cannot let it happen again, so yes, I need to use this formula because whatever is coming will be stronger than Rogers and  _ I cannot fail.” _

Stephen stayed silent for a second. “Ever since you became iron man, you have constantly striven to better the suit. With every threat you face, you become stronger - and don’t try to deny it because you know it’s true. Why can’t the nanotech be enough?”

“Because I can’t… I need to be stronger, Stephen, if we are going to face whatever is out there. I have modified the suit so that none of what happened that day can happen again, but that is not enough. I am still human, I am still too breakable. I need to be stronger, or earth is doomed.”

“It shouldn’t all just fall on you,” Stephen pointed out, feeling uncharacteristically angry on behalf of the genius.

Tony snorted. “Yeah well, it’s not like we have a plethora of people sitting around to help us defend earth, not unless you’re hiding some in that sneaky cape of yours.”

Stephen rolled his eyes at the man “cloak.”

“Po-tay-to, po-tah-to,” Tony said with a wink. “So are you in or not, Strange?” Tony asked, his tone casual, but Stephen knew better than to take that question as anything but a show of trust.

A part of him - the part of him that was a doctor and had taken the hippocratic oath - truly, honestly wanted to say no to the request, however innocent it may seem. The formula, from what little he had seen, was anything but stable; the chances of Tony dying due to this were high. Not only that; Tony would be the first test subject to try the revamped version of the formula, which, considering how many test subjects the original one seemed to have had if the video count was anything to go by, was not encouraging at all. They had no idea what the possible side effects could be, and if Stephen helped him and Tony died, then he would be complicit in the man’s death. He couldn’t quite stomach that.

The other part of him, however, knew he had to help the genius. First, because the man would go through with this with or without Strange. So, at least, if he was there he could try to mitigate the damage. Second, he could understand Tony’s desire to better himself in order to protect others - that was honorable, to say the least. It was far more honorable than Stephen’s reasons for seeking the mystic arts in the first place.

So, in the end, could he really say no to the man?

“I have two conditions,” Stephen said finally after a minute of , noticing the way Tony tensed.

“And what will those be?” Tony asked lightly, pinning Stephen with his gaze. With them both sitting down, he could look at the man straight in the eye without having to give an inch of his power by looking up.

“The first is that you put the nanotech in first, and we monitor it for at least two weeks to make sure it is safe, before you even think of getting your body anywhere near that formula.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “That was already part of the plan, Hermione. I do know a thing or two about how this works, you know?” Tony said, relaxing slightly. “What is the second condition?”

“Next time we see Captain Rogers, I get to throw him through a falling portal for at least an hour,” Stephen said, his eyes flashing dangerously with repressed anger.

Tony choked on a laugh full of surprise and pain, before he leaned forward, resting his forehead against Stephen’s shoulder while he laughed while trying not to cry. The taller man immediately brought a hand up, placing a comforting hand on the back of Tony’s neck, rubbing small circles on the man’s exposed skin.

He was surprised Tony felt comfortable enough with Stephen to allow himself to ask for physical comfort, but he was glad they were making progress in that department. If they had to fight together, then the sorcerer wanted Tony to be able to trust him. And, quite honestly, even if he weren’t fighting at Tony’s side, something inside him craved the man’s trust. Perhaps it was because it was such a rare and precious thing to get, or perhaps it was because this was the first person to genuinely touch Stephen’s heart in a very long time. Stephen wasn’t too sure; all he knew was that he was starting to deeply care for the man currently resting on his shoulder, and he wasn’t sure what to do with that information.

Tony pulled back after a minute or two, seemingly collecting himself back into his “Tony Stark” persona. “Right, we should, uh, eat something because otherwise May will kill you, and then we can get started with preparing everything to put in the core.”

Stephen did not comment when Tony stood up and put some significant distance between them, knowing that that’s what the man needed right now. “Alright, I am going to get Wong. He will kill me if I stay over late again and not bring him any food.”

Tony chuckled. “Oh, while you are there, make sure to bring back Peter’s sweater, would you? He left it at your Sanctum  a week ago and he forgets to bring it back every time.”

Stephen gave Tony the thumbs up after opening the portal, for once not bothering to comment on how utterly… fatherly it was of Tony to know about Peter’s damn sweater.

* * *

"Alright I think… that’s everything ready,” Stephen said as he watched Tony finish adjusting the last measurement of the bluish liquid that would soon be pumping through the man’s veins.  “I still think we should call Christine,” Stephen said, not for the first time.

Tony just shook his head. “No offense, but I don’t know her doc. Besides, like I told you before, we won’t be needing her. The reactor is already back in - that was the hard part. We have been monitoring for two weeks, and Dr. Cho herself took a look at the formula. This is just you making sure I am stable while extremis does its thing,” Tony said, trying to sound calm to the point of complete casualness when he was feeling anything but.

In truth, at this moment, he kind of missed Bruce. The ever elusive doctor had been the only one of his old team whom he had connected on an intellectual level. While they had not always seen eye to eye, he had always been able to count on Bruce to understand at the very least what he was trying to accomplish. He had always been able to make Tony see things he hadn’t seen before when looking at any particular upgrade or experiment. Even with Vision, the man’s expertise had been invaluable in allowing them to create a being that was so very unlike Ultron at its core. But missing the scientist was moot; he was gone. And, considering the fact that not even the split of the Avengers had been enough to bring the man back, Tony was pretty sure he was never going to see Bruce again - not if Bruce had any say in it anyway. 

With that thought in mind, Tony turned back to look at Strange, giving him a small smile as he made his way to the “operating table” as he had taken to calling it to tease Strange. It really was nothing more than a glorified workbench where he sometimes brought the suits down to work on, but Strange had worked his proverbial magic and had set up shop there, bringing anything under the sun from Christine’s he thought could possibly be needed if something went wrong today.

“Once you put the formula inside me, I am going to activate the suit,” Tony warned as he laid down on the cold metal that made him shudder. “It has a cooling system in case I didn't work out all the kinks with the heating issues, and it can tell you my vitals,” Tony explained.

_ It will also keep you from hearing me scream _ the genius thought, not daring to voice that aloud. While he had told Strange pretty much everything else, and Strange knew this was a painful process, Tony didn't want the man to actually see him break down in pain. He was afraid the pain would trigger flashbacks of when he had first gotten the reactor in that hot merciless cave back in Afghanistan. The last thing he wanted to do was have a panic attack in front of the doctor - both for his dignity and the man’s peace of mind - and so while he was sure Stephen could argue about the suit, he was not willing to bend on that. The suit was his last line of defense, in every way.

The doctor gave him an indecipherable look and sighed. “Tony, putting on the suit will not allow me to check-”

“Friday can check anything and everything while I am inside the suit,” Tony interrupted him. “Look, if something really needs to be checked, or something goes wrong, the suit will retract - stop worrying, but it will keep me restrained, it has a cooling system, and  _ I  _ will feel better inside it. Now let’s get this show on the road, Strange.”

The doctor looked anything but convinced; still, he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he drew from his well of mana to channel some of his magic into his hands. He could feel the change immediately - the pain mostly receded and the shaking stopped completely, restoring his hands back to their former glory if even for just a moment. Stephen opened his eyes and looked down at his scarred hands, half holding his breath in wonder.

He couldn’t help but feel a little melancolic as he prepped Tony’s arm with sure and confident hands. He took the syringe and prepped it, bringing it up to eye level to check that the amount was  _ just  _ right. He turned to look at Tony, worried icy blue eyes meeting tony’s warm chocolate eyes.

“For the record, I think this is a terrible idea,” Stephen said as he slowly injected the thick formula into Tony’s veins, keeping his eyes on Tony’s amused ones.

“Noted,” the man half whispered, before closing his eyes as the burning sensation spread from his arm to the rest of his body. He tensed, clenching his hands to keep himself from thrashing about so that Stephen could finish injecting the formula. He had no idea why the man was taking so long - he was only halfway there - but Tony wished more than anything that the man would hurry up because he was about to lose his mind.

He couldn’t hold back a small whimper as Stephen finally finished applying the formula, gracefully taking out the needle only to replace it with a small gauze that smelled of antiseptic. He applied pressure to the puncture, his eyes travelling back to Tony’s face. “How are you feeling?”

Tony could not - did not want to - reply. Instead, with a bitten off groan, Tony raised a trembling hand and brought it up to his chest, double tapping the reactor softly which immediately activated the nanomites stored inside. Tony screamed in pain as the heat burning inside him turned up yet another notch just as the nanomites burst forth as fast as ever, each running faster than the last to cover his entire body.

Strange took a step back, taking the gauze with him when the metal reached Tony’s arms, sending the man a helpless glare. He was not done treating Tony’s arms, and, after that scream, the last thing he wanted to do was let the man out of his sight.

“Friday, how are his vitals? Is he muting himself inside the suit? I need to hear him” Stephen asked immediately, the image of Tony’s face scrunching up in pain burning into his retinas.

“His pulse is elevated, Doctor, and his levels of Adrenaline have begun to rise. His temperature is also elevated,” Friday said, worry clear in her voice.

“How high is his temperature? Show me the chart Friday,” Stephen commanded, worry eating away inside him.

The AI did as told, bringing up a hologram for Stephen to look at. The man looked it over, feeling his mouth dry up. “I thought he said he had the overheating issue under control,” Stephen murmured faintly.

“He did, Doctor. Comparatively, his heat levels are much lower than all prior test subjects, so there should be no threat of explosion - if the current levels hold to a steady increase and do not jump unexpectedly.”

“This was worse than a horrible idea,” Stephen said as he bit his lip, worry running through his body. “Is there anything I can do to alleviate the pain or lower his temperature?” Stephen asked, hoping against hope.

“Not from the information I have, sir,” The AI admitted.

“How long before we know whether or not the formula will take to his body?” Stephen asked as he turned to face the man encased in his armor.

“The formula is currently making its way to Mr. Stark’s heart - though it will take at least another hour before it reaches it. If he survives that, then the process will take another twenty or so hours to complete,” Friday explained, pulling up a picture of Tony’s circulatory system.

Strange looked at it with helpless anger, not liking the wait at all. He summoned a chair and set it right next to the stubborn genius, picking up his cup of tea from before. If he could do nothing, the least he could do was wait here with the man. “Inform me if any changes occur, please Friday,” Stephen asked with a sigh as he sat back, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath. He brought his legs up and crossed them on the chair, concentrating on the heat emanating from his cup of tea and the sensation of the wood digging at his back, keeping him upright.

He was not sure how long he remained in that position, forcing his mind to remain empty of both thought and feeling - or as empty as he could make it considering he couldn't exactly delete the worry he was feeling for the man laying next to him.

“Extremis is reaching his heart now, his heart rate is spiking,” Friday warned, snapping strange out of his forced meditation.

The doctor stood up immediately, looking at the monitor Friday kept up for his benefit and cursed under his breath at the numbers. It was no secret that Tony had a weak heart, what with him having gone through open heart surgery multiple times in his life at this point and having lived with an arc reactor for almost a decade now - something which also lowered his lung capacity.

It was two of the main issues Stephen had raised for the past two weeks when he had been given the time to read through all of the reports of prior test subjects. He had told Tony before; he was afraid the man's heart wouldn't be able to take it - which made him want to slap the idiot right now as he saw the number change erratically.

“Friday open the damn suit! He is having an episode of ventricular fibrillation! If I don't use an AED, he  _ will  _ die!” Stephen snared, bringing the machine closer.

“I am trying doctor, but the suit won't let me,” she said, sounding desperate. “It's not answering to my commands.”

“Friday-”

“Wait something is happening, the suit is - the nanomites are  _ inside  _ him doctor,” Friday said, half in awe. “His heart rate is slowing.”

Before Stephen could ask what the hell was going on, more nanomites came out of the suit, building a thick protective cocoon around Tony.

“Friday?” Stephen asked, sounding distressed. “ What the hell is that thing around him?”

“It's a part of the suit, sir. I cannot get a reading of what's happening inside it anymore. It's blocking my signal.”

Stephen's eyes narrowed at that. Enough was enough. He saw his cloak quickly zoom from the other side of the room to settle at his shoulders as it felt Stephen's distress mounting. The sorcerer rose from the ground, his hands shining with the light of the orange glyphs as he moved them in intricate motions in front of him. An orange mist dispelled from his hands and covered the cocoon, only to dissipate a few seconds later as an electric current coming from inside dispelled them.

Stephen frowned, unsure as to what to do now. He couldn't even see inside the damn thing with his magic. He had no idea what was happening in there; he didn't even know if Tony was still alive.

“Friday, call Princess Shuri. Tell her it's an emergency and that we need her here  _ now.” _

* * *

"Brother!” Shuri called out as she came barging into the throne room.

T'challa turned slightly to look at the newcomer, giving his sister an unimpressed stare once she stopped to catch a breath. “Shuri I am speaking with Sergeant Barnes; surely you can wait for a minute?”

“No, I cannot,” she said imperiously, though she threw Barnes an apologetic glance. “Dr. Strange just called me. Tony needs my help -  _ right now _ . I am taking Okoye with me,” she informed her brother before walking out of the room, half ready to sprint again.

His brother ran after her, however, noticing the panic that had been hiding in her eyes. “Shuri! Wait, stop, what happened?”

“I don't have time to wait! And I don't have time to explain - I know next to nothing as well. All I know is that he might not make it if I don't come help him, so I am leaving now.”

T'Challa gaped, unsure how to process what Shuri was saying. He understood, however, that time was of essence and that, if they had called his sister, then what they needed was her brain. “Did you call Okoye?”

“Yes she's on her way to the jet. Brother I have to-”

T'Challa kissed her forehead. “I will open the barrier for you. Be careful,” he implored before stepping back, turning around and sprinting back to Shuri's lab, where he could more easily access the entire security control panel.

Shuri nodded to herself and ran as fast as her legs could carry her, not even greeting Okoye as she ran up the jet and into the cockpit.

Okoye sat next to her, taking over the controls once they were off the ground so that Shuri could input the coordinates.

“Why are we going to the Avengers Compound?” She asked calmly, not turning to look at her young charge.

“Because there's a white boy there I need to save,” she said after a few seconds, still trying to catch her breath. “He’s one of the good ones too.”

“Then we better hurry,” Okoye said with a sigh, turning on the repulsors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have not seen Endgame yet, I am watching it tomorrow. I already know what happens but I would still like to ask that you don't post spoilers in the comments for others.
> 
> This fic WILL NOT follow the endgame potline at all. I wrote the entire fic's outline after watching Infinity War and I am not changing a thing about it. So yeah, just in case you were wondering.


	12. I've Never Been Good at Waiting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "You just can't take the doctor out of you."   
> \- Ken Jeong

“Dr. Strange? I am Shuri, ” Shuri greeted, offering her hand to the stressed out looking man who had come to greet them at the compound’s main entrance. “We came as fast as we could. I reviewed the footage Friday sent, but I need to examine him to try to understand that cocoon. Has there been any changes since you contacted me?” 

Stephen shook his head, looking tired to the bone. “None that are visible from the outside at the very least. The cocoon is blocking out Friday completely; it is thick enough that she cannot scan for anything inside, and she cannot connect to the suit.” 

Shuri nodded grimly. “Take me to him.” 

Stephen did not bother with guiding them around the compound; they could take a tour later. Hell, he would guide said tour himself if necessary, but right now time was of essence. Tony had already been inside the cocoon for over 10 excruciating hours and Stephen wasn’t sure he could take much more of this. Waiting around without doing anything went against the very core of his being. He had always been the one to jump head first into the fray - first as a doctor and now as a wizard. Thus, being unable to help was driving him mad.

He pushed his frustrations deep inside him as he made a circular motion with his right hand, opening a portal straight into the workshop where Tony was resting. 

The two women walked ahead of Stephen who closed the portal as soon as he was through. Shuri gasped softly at the sight of the red and gold metal cocoon enveloping Tony. She approached it slowly, bringing her arm up to grab her bracelet. She took out two round vibranium pieces from the bracelet, throwing them in the air. 

They immediately took flight, turning bright blue as they began scanning the cocoon. The nanomites seemed to sense the vibranium for the liquid metal shot up like a sword to trap the vibranium, bringing it back to be absorbed into the cocoon. 

Stephen, who had stayed back up until that point, immediately shot forward, his eyes as wide as Shuri's. “I have never seen anything like this,” she admitted quietly, half afraid to lean forward as she was covered from head to toe in vibranium.

“Did you manage to get any reading on your scanners before...?” Stephen asked quietly motioning with his hand to the cocoon as he was at a loss for words as to what exactly had just happened.

This was the first time the cocoon had reacted since Tony had first become encased in it, and, for all intents and purposes, what had just happened did not look like a good sign to Stephen.

“I got a heartbeat, I think,” Shuri said, her eyes still on the cocoon. She stepped a little back to display the reading on her bracelet. “It’s too short to tell if it’s an actual heartbeat, but… that would be my hopeful guess.” 

Stephen sighed, refusing to let hope seep into his heart as he rubbed his tired eyes slowly. Shuri watched him closely, noticing the tension starting at his neck and extending all the way to his trembling hands. “Have you slept at all doctor?” 

He gave her a rueful smile that faded almost as fast as it had appeared. “I am afraid not, no. Though I don’t believe I require sleep just yet.” 

“I can stay with him and alert you of any changes, if you don’t want to leave him alone,” Shuri offered kindly. 

“It’s not so much that I can’t watch him while I sleep as it is that I… can’t sleep, not when I am…” Stephen did not finish his sentence, unsure as to how to convey how worried he was - or even if it was a good idea in the first place to showcase any form of weakness in front of the young woman standing next to him. 

While he knew she and Stark were working together on the iron legion - and Tony had had nothing but praises to sing about her - Stephen himself did not know her. He did not feel comfortable sharing the fact that he avoided sleep at all costs when he was highly stressed or worried, for it only made his nightmares worse. He was also uncomfortable admitting - even to himself - that it did not feel right to leave Tony alone, even if his astral form stayed behind. 

“I was a doctor once,” he said finally. “And a damn good one too. It would be in poor form if I left my patient unattended now,” he teased, trying to add some degree of levity to the abysmal situation they found themselves in. 

Shuri smiled, whether for his benefit or because she found his joke at least mildly amusing he didn’t know, and at this point he didn’t care. “Well good doctors need rest too, or so I hear. Go take a shower, eat something. Okoye and I will not move from this room, and if anything happens Friday can call you.” 

Stephen was about to protest when the look from the warrior standing behind Shuri shut him up. He was pretty sure there would be no arguing with either one - especially the one holding a rather sharp looking vibranium weapon in her hand.

“Alright, I’ll be back in twenty minutes,” he conceded, his eyes straying to the cocoon.

“Make that forty,” Okoye said, her face unsmiling through her warm eyes betrayed her. 

Stephen rolled his eyes but still respectfully responded “Aye aye captain,” before turning around and leaving the room, forcing himself not to look back. 

He stopped once he reached the living room, unsure as to where he was going and what he was supposed to do. He could go to the Sanctum and shower and eat there; it’s not like it would take longer than doing so here in the compound as he could just portal back if anything happened. But, he didn’t have Friday in the sanctum which meant he would be unreachable until he portaled back, and that did not seat well with him. 

“Friday, is there anywhere I can take a shower, here?” 

“Yes, Doctor, would you like me to take you there?” The AI asked politely, her tone warm and no longer guarded. 

“Let me just get a change of clothes,” he said as he opened a portal, leaving it open as he stepped into his room in the Sanctum. He walked towards his drawers and picked the first pair of slacks and underwear he could find. He picked a plain t-shirt and grabbed a cardigan for good measure, before rushing back to the compound, clothes in hand. 

“Please head to the elevator doctor,” Friday indicated as she opened the elevator doors for the man. 

He graciously stepped in, not even bothering to ask where Friday was taking him; any shower at all would do. 

They stopped on the last floor, and, as soon as the doors opened, Stephen’s curiosity spiked. This was a whole living area hiding within the compound - a safe haven of sorts. “Friday is this someone’s… apartment?” 

“This is Mr. Stark’s personal residence when he visits the compound,” the AI explained. “You will find the shower in his bedroom, which is the last door to your left.” 

Stephen did not walk immediately, feeling a hint of trepidation. “Are you quite sure he won’t mind me coming here? I don’t want to overstep my boundaries. I mean surely there’s a shower elsewhere in the tower.” 

“Mr. Stark has not yet finished building your own rooms, Sir. And, since you have clearance for the workshop, you also have clearance for Mr. Stark’s personal residence.”

Stephen hesitated for a few more seconds before finally deferring to the AI's wisdom of her master's personal boundaries. He couldn't help but smile slightly at the sight of Tony's room; while Tony clearly did not spend much time here, it still felt very much like the man.

It was an organized chaos, full of trinkets which he probably brought with him whenever he left the workshop to “rest”. The bed looked like it had not been slept in in a good long while, but the dark blues of the covers, and the silky material spoke of comfort and good taste. 

It reminded Stephen a bit of his own room, back when he had still had his fortune and a rather enviable penthouse. Instead of trinkets his room used to be filled with medical journals and research material - the covers of his bed made out of the finest egyptian silk.

How the times had changed. 

Stephen shook his head and looked away from the room and walked into the bathroom, chuckling to himself at the sight of the enormous tub sitting to the side of it. Expensive taste indeed. Stephen left his clean clothes near the sink, picking up one of the white fluffy towels stored on the open cabinet. The cloak gently pulled away from his shoulders, leaving the bathroom altogether as Stephen dispassionately got rid of his clothing, leaving it on a heap on the floor, which he easily moved to the counter with a flick of his wrist.

The shower turned on automatically much to the wizard’s surprise - a reminder that even here Friday was watching. It was… unsettling, to be perfectly honest, but then again the cloak had “seen” him naked more times that he could count, so was it really any different from Stark’s AI? 

If anything, this was not the weirdest thing Stephen had done since becoming a sorcerer, and wasn’t that ironic. 

He finally stepped into the scalding hot water, releasing a breath he didn’t even know he was holding as the pressure from the water worked at his tense muscles. Part of him did not want to move from the spot ever again, and a part of him simply wanted to run back to the workshop to check on the idiot man that had Stephen so worried in the first place. That feeling increased tenfold as soon as he opened the cap of the shampoo - the smell reminding him of Tony. It was a heady smell of sandalwood and sage - generally mixed with a hint of metal and oil from the man’s time in the workshop. It was a particular, lovely smell that, at this point, Stephen could likely recognize almost anywhere and that at this particular moment was stirring a longing within him he had not felt since… well since Christine. 

Stephen almost dropped the Shampoo on the floor as the sudden realization hit him like a ton of bricks; he was….  _ attracted _ to Tony Stark. 

And not in the “oh he has a nice face and hello that ass is hot” kind of way, but more in the “you are a brilliant, kind, gorgeous individual whom I would spend all of my time with and I want to set you down on a bed and map out your body every night until I die” kind of way.

Stephen squeezed his eyes shut, cursing internally as he, with herculean mental strength, took all of that information and shoved it deep into the recesses of his mind alongside his quickly raising panic, where he would not have to think or deal with any of that for at least a few months. The last thing he needed right now was to add emotions to the equation that was Tony Stark in his life. 

* * *

“It’s been almost twenty hours. We have to break that damn thing  _ now _ ,” Stephen said through clenched teeth, giving the cocoon a hateful look. 

Shuri bit her lip. “If we cut through the cocoon, it may do more harm than good. We don’t know what’s happening inside of it. Also, we have tried using vibranium tools and it has absorbed the metal, so I am not sure how you wish to cut through it,” the young woman pointed out.

Stephen paced from one side of the room to the other, feeling more and more frustrated by the second. 

“Pacing will not help you anymore than it has for the past four hours, Doctor. A cool mind will,” Okoye said from where she was sitting near Shuri, her eyes closed and her tone patient. 

“We could try your magic again,” Shuri suggested after a few more minutes of watching the man continue to pace, clearly not taking Okoye's advice.  “You said magic repels technology, maybe with enough magic, we can weaken the cocoon or have it recede.” 

Stephen turned to face the young woman. He had tried magic only once on the cocoon - and absolutely nothing had happened. He had not dared to try again for fear of hurting Tony, but at this point he was feeling rather desperate. Tony had not had anything to eat or drink in twenty hours and while that was not enough to kill him or harm him in any long term way, it certainly could turn dangerous if the damn cocoon did not open up fast. 

Thus, with a sigh, Stephen clapped his hands together before bringing them sharply to his sides. The cloak of levitation immediately flew from the other side of the room, where it had been doing its own pacing for the past few hours, to settle at Stephen’s shoulders, bringing the sorcerer up into the air effortlessly. 

Shuri watched fascinated as the man began making a series of complicated maneuvers, each resulting in orange shields with intricate patterns on them that flew to attach themselves to the cocoon one after the other, wrapping themselves around the metal like a mantle. He threw more and more relentlessly, to the point that the metal was barely visible underneath the glowing, living magic. It took her a minute to realize, but soon enough Shuri realized what the man was doing; the shields, or whatever the hell they were, were pure magical energy. He was trying to break the cocoon by powering it up with magic. 

Stephen raise his hands up to his elbows then, his eyes glowing green as the glyphs’ glow turned into pure orange light. Shuri put her hand up to cover her eyes from the brightness. After a few seconds, Stephen descended back to the ground, his magic remaining firmly on the cocoon. 

“No reaction,” he declared with a sigh.

Before Shuri could respond, or do much of anything really, Stephen's mantle exploded, sending a blast of energy all around the room that sent Okoye, Shuri and Stephen all tumbling to the ground. Immediately a chunk of the cocoon shot out from the bottom, where Tony's back was. The nanomites rearranged themselves as they shot outwards, turning into long cords which immediately plugged into the central computer in Tony's workshop.

“Friday?” Shuri immediately exclaimed as she stood up. “What the hell is happening?”

“It's… I… the nanomites are… I can feel him,” she said, half in wonder. “He's  _ here _ I don't understand. I-”

“Friday you're not making any sense, what do you mean he's here?” 

“He’s everywhere. He's lost. I need to help him,” The AI said urgently, which only served to confuse the three humans in the room even more. 

Before any of them could ask any questions however, a noise coming from the cocoon made them turn back to look at it instead of the cords attaching it to the compound's mainframe. The cocoon began vibrating on the table before slowly retreating, the metal seemingly retreating into the reactor again. 

Both Shuri and Stephen rushed towards the table as Tony's body slowly came to view while Okoye stayed behind, her hand on her weapon and her eyes trained warily on the cables. Neither Shuri not Stephen dared touch Tony, not even once the cocoon fully dissolved, leaving behind only the cords attaching Tony to the computer. The cords themselves were coming out of the man's back where a part of his armor was still on his body. 

Stephen frowned, not failing to notice the fact that Tony looked… younger, stronger even. He look well rested for once, and the scars around his naked chest had lessened considerably. What was worrying, however, was the fact that the nanomites were still on Tony's body despite the fact that they were not connected to the reactor. 

Something was clearly not right. 

“Friday…” Stephen said, as a prickling worry began taking root inside him. “When you say he's here…. Do you mean Tony's inside… your system?” 

“He is in the mainframe,” Friday responded after a few seconds. “But he is also… he is everywhere. He is connected to everything. It's too much information for him to handle. He needs a moment to process it doctor.”

“I'm sorry, what do you mean he's _ in _ the mainframe?” Shuri asked aloud, looking flabbergasted. 

Tony gasped, a violent shudder running through his body before he shot up into a sitting position, his eyes still closed. Stephen immediately put a hand on Tony's chest to keep him from tumbling all the way forward. He felt the cold sweat covering Tony's clammy skin and his hand unconsciously travelled to Tony's neck to check on the man's pulse.

Accelerated pulse - but  _ alive.  _

Placing his other hand on the back of Tony's neck, he gently pushed the man back to lay down on the table again, feeling some of his panic recede once Tony's breathing went back to normal.

“Friday I need to know his vitals,” Stephen asked urgently. 

“He's stabilizing… finalizing tuning adjustments and creating firewall.” 

Shuri and Stephen shared a look, both feeling equally confused and mildly scared about what exactly was happening to Tony. A few minutes later the cords unplugged themselves, retracting back into the suit, which them seemingly seeped  _ into _ Tony's very skin. 

Tony opened his eyes then, and Stephen's stomach dropped to the floor at the sight; instead of warm chocolate eyes he was greeted with a pair of electric blue eyes, which were glowing with numbers. 

“Tony?” The sorcerer whispered uneasily. 

The man in question groaned, struggling to sit up as he shook his head. “I… need a minute,” he said, his voice gravelly with disuse. “God, my head hurts,” he half whined as he pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes.

After a few seconds the man finally moved his hands away, blinking his eyes open; they were chocolate brown once more, though Stephen could see a faint blue line encircling the man's pupils. “Tony, are you alright?” Stephen asked again, his hands hovering half way between his sides and Tony's shoulders.

Tony blinked a few more times, as if having trouble focusing on the doctor, before he nodded, smiling tiredly. “I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna keel over yet.” 

Stephen rubbed his eyes, the stress and pressure of the past day turning into acute anger and annoyance. 

“What did Friday mean when she said you were in the mainframe?” Shuri pressed, coming to stand right in front of Tony.

Tony's eyes widened as he finally noticed her presence. “Princess? What the hell are you doing here?”

“Dr. Strange called me. Now answer the question,” Shuri pressed, hating the feeling of not knowing what was happening.

“You called her?” Tony asked, sounding confused. “What happened?” 

“Your nanomites formed into an impenetrable cocoon. We could not reach you. I figured Shuri had the best chance to figure out how to help you,” Stephen explained.

“Tony, answer my question please,” Shuri repeated again. 

“I'm uh not quite sure, to be honest. This wasn't supposed to happen,” Tony said as he looked down at his hands. “I think… I think the nanomites merged with Extremis. The suit… “ he suddenly chuckled, shaking his head from side to side. “The suit and I are one - literally, it seems. I… It's like I can  _ feel _ the network. It's all in my head. I am pretty sure I could connect to the internet right now if I wanted to.” 

“I set up a firewall around you, sir,” Friday piped up. “You were having trouble processing information, which was keeping you from waking up. I would recommend you slowly reach into the network if you decide to do so.” 

Tony gaped slightly, but nodded. “Thanks baby girl.” 

“So you essentially uploaded your consciousness to your network,” Shuri breathed out.

“I think it has more to do with the fact that the suit is inside me so we're… syncing. I think? I am honestly not fully sure what's happening,” Tony said , sagging against the table as another wave of information hit his brain. 

Stephen was there in a second to catch the trembling man, sitting next to him to hold him by the shoulders. 

“Fri run scans,” Tony asked, leaning into Stephen's side. He looked up to see the hologram Friday pulled up, showing his much improved body. “Oh wow, extremis really worked double time,” he muttered mostly to himself as he noticed many of his past injuries were all but gone, and even his chest cavity seemed much much stronger. 

Tony looked down, experimentally tapping the arc reactor, waiting for the nanomites to come out. 

They did not. 

In fact absolutely nothing happened, which made Tony begin to panic. “Wait, where's the suit? I thought-”

“It's still inside you,” Shuri said, pointing to the hologram where the nanomites were visible all over Tony's body. 

“But it's not coming out,” Tony argued, tapping the reactor once more. “nothing's happening.” 

“Maybe there's a different way to call it forth,” Shuri suggested, her eyes shining with curiosity. “If the reactor no longer houses them, or rather, the nanomites don't depend on it to come out, maybe you tapping on it no longer means anything.” 

Tony hummed, standing up slowly as he continued to stare at the reactor as if it held all the secrets. He closed his eyes and forced himself to breathe slowly, concentrating on feeling the suit. Perhaps Shuri was right - if the suit now lived inside him, a mix of extremis and nanotechnology, then it would act like a second skin. 

After a few minutes of trying, the genius finally managed to push the nanomites out. He gasped excitedly as he watched the suit slowly form around his body, feeling his skin cool as the metal shaped to his body. He stumbled slightly, feeling drained, but proud.

“Amazing,” he said, his voice holding all the excitement of a child on their first trip to Disneyland. Despite his exhaustion, right now he felt like he could go on for days. “Okay, Fri, we need to start running some tests. Why don't we-” 

Stephen cleared his throat, his patience finally snapping. He wanted to  _ scream. _ “You are not running  _ any _ tests today, Stark,” he growled. 

Tony whirled around to face the wizard, surprised by the venom in his voice. “Excuse me?”

“Up until twenty minutes ago, we thought you likely  _ dead.  _ Your body has been encased in a metal cocoon for the past twenty hours. You need water, food and rest - and all three are non negotiable.” 

Tony gaped slightly. He was pretty sure he had not seen Strange this angry since their first meeting. “Why are your knickers in a twist, Gandalf?” He asked, his defense mechanisms kicking in hard. 

Stephen bristled, Tony's nonplussed attitude making him even angrier. “My problem is that you just used an extremely dangerous untested formula on yourself that clearly changed you at a molecular level and that has made obvious lasting changes to your body which we haven't even begun to comprehend. This isn't like making a new Iron Man suit or discovering a new element - this is  _ your body _ we are talking about and you are being reckless and irresponsible with it” Stephen bit out mercilessly as he stalked closer, his nostrils still flared with anger. “So do me the courtesy of at least taking care of yourself and ensuring that you are alright before jumping carelessly into testing whatever the hell this is.” 

“He's right Tony,” Shuri said to the shocked genius whose eyes had not yet left Stephen's angry ones. “Your body just went through some huge life-altering changes. You need to take it slowly for a while. I can assist you with testing and anything else you may need - after we make sure you're actually okay.” 

Before anyone could say anything else, a flash of orange light filled the room and a half burning scroll shot it's way to Stephen's hand. The man grabbed it with ease, tearing it open without any concern for the fire still there at the edges. He grunted, his bad humor increasing tenfold. “I am needed at Kamar Taj,” he declared as he let go of the scroll which immediately turned to ash.

He stepped away from Tony and opened a portal, not bothering to look back as he said “Do attempt not to kill yourself, Stark.” 

He did not give Tony the chance to answer as he closed the portal behind him, which only made the genius feel even more offended. 

“What the hell is his problem?” He asked to no one in particular, feeling himself grow angrier by the second. 

“He was very worried about you,” Okoye spoke at last, her calm eyes pinning Tony to the spot. “All he knows is that you were swallowed by a cocoon he did not understand nor could he see through for over twenty hours. He has not left your side save for a quick shower and some food.”

“I am fine now! I didn't ask him to-” 

“He is your friend Tony,” Shuri said, placing a gentle hand on his forearm. “You didn't have to ask him to stay because he did so willingly. He is frustrated because you should be resting and taking care of yourself. He is worried so… he's acting out,” the young woman finished, an amused smile on her lips.

Tony sighed, but nodded. While he did not appreciate Stephen's tone, he could understand what it was like to sit by feeling helpless when those you cared about were hurt. If anything, Stephen's actions all pointed towards the fact that he had gone above and beyond the line of duty for Tony, as a testament to their growing friendship. 

Tony grimaced, feeling a slight twitch of guilt as he replayed the past ten minutes in his mind. Okay, so maybe he shouldn't have immediately jumped the gun and begun testing, but honestly Strange knew him at this point. That's what Tony did. It was in his very DNA to want to figure things out. He would go insane if he didn't learn everything there was to learn about the new developments his body was going through now that he had extremis. 

“Alright, water, food, and rest, and then I can start on my tests right?” Tony said after a minute, remembering that he was not alone. 

“Boss, you asked me to remind you that you have a dinner tonight with Mr. Parker and his aunt.” 

“Ah shit, yes, that's today. Okay so water, food, rest, more food and then testing.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not entirely pleased with how this chapter came out, but I was fighting through writer's block and other stuff so... ta da. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it! You may have noticed I changed my pseudonym - I did so because I wanted to match my [blog](https://teamironmanforever.tumblr.com/) name with my Ao3 name to avoid confusion. It's been years and I only just recently found out I could change it.


	13. Unexpected visitors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "The people who are meant to be in your life will always gravitate back towards you, no matter how far they wander."

Tony arrived at the restaurant with a little bit of difficulty as flying from the compound into the city had forced him to bring out the suit while he was still attempting to merge with it. It seemed like when the suit was out, an even bigger torrent of information became available to him, as the suit’s enhanced perceptions and scope became available to him firsthand. He was thankfully used to multitasking very complicated, information-heavy tasks, but he could not hide from the migraine developing at the very front of his skull. 

He had barely been able to do any testing before leaving to meet with Peter and May, as, after eating some food and drinking some water, he had fallen asleep for almost six hours. Shuri had refused to wake him, knowing that while the man was stronger now, his mind was completely exhausted trying to process everything. Not only that but even his body was learning to adjust to the changes.  

All in all Tony couldn’t blame her for letting him rest; however, that meant he had very little working knowledge of what exactly was happening with his body now, which meant he had to be extra careful because he wasn’t sure he wanted Peter or May knowing yet. They were both easy to stress out, and the last thing he wanted was for their anxiety to spike because when they freaked out so did he. He needed to have this on down lock before they found out - if only to assure them that yes he was okay. 

He landed on the alleyway next to the restaurant, letting the suit sink into his skin to reveal a white button down and jeans. He stayed in the alley way for a minute, looking at his reflection on his phone until the electric blue of his eyes gave way to chocolate brown. The change in eye color was likely the most obvious, and disconcerting, change. He wasn’t sure if it was putting on the suit that triggered it, or if it was every time he accessed the servers, but he did not yet know of a way to avoid them turning electric blue. 

Once he was sure his eyes were back to normal, or as normal as they were going to get with that thin line of bluish light between his pupil and his iris. He took out his sunglasses and put them on as he walked to the front of the restaurant, giving the flabbergasted hostess a flashy smile. 

“I have a reservation under Parker,” Tony said quietly, not wanting to draw too much attention. He and May had decided long ago to use her last name whenever they went out to eat, since it ensured that no one knew Tony Stark would be the one coming. It usually helped keep a low profile, especially since Tony was very strict about not letting people take pictures of him when he was out with the Parkers. He didn’t want them getting too exposed, as he didn’t need to worry even more about their safety.

The woman led him to one of the more secluded tables at the back of the restaurant where Peter, May, and Ned were sitting. Tony had only met Ned once when Peter had brought him along for a project.  The kid always talked about his friend, so Tony was rather familiar with him, despite not personally knowing him very well. 

“Sorry for being late. I got hung up with a few things at the lab,” Tony said in lieu of announcing his presence. He first went to May’s side, leaning down to give the woman a kiss on the cheek. 

“That’s fine, we just got here a few minutes ago ourselves,” May said with a smile. 

Tony nodded, turning to look at Peter’s friend. “Well, I must say I wasn’t expecting to see you here today, Mr. Leeds, how are you?” he said as he offered Ned his hand. 

The young man looked like he was going to self combust in excitement as he eyed Tony’s offered hand. “Oh my god,” he whispered to himself, before clearing his throat and shaking Tony’s hand. “Hello Mr. Stark.  I, uh, sorry for tagging along. I-”

“No need to be sorry, Ned - can I call you Ned? - in fact I am quite happy you decided to join us. Peter has told me quite a lot about you,” Tony said as he passed by Peter’s side, ruffling the young man’s hair as a form of greeting before taking a seat. 

Peter blushed, but smiled nonetheless at his mentor once the man had sat down. He could feel Ned beaming at him, elated to hear that Peter had told Iron Man about him. 

“So, did May tell you why we’re here today?” Tony asked nonchalantly, leaning back against his chair as he placed one hand on the back of May’s chair. 

Peter frowned; he hadn’t even been aware there  _ was  _ a reason for today’s dinner. The expensive as hell restaurant should have given him a clue, though. “Uh… you have… an announcement?” Peter guessed with a shrug. 

Tony chuckled. “No, but you do,” the man said with a twinkle in his eye. “You neglected to mention that your Decathlon team is going to the semifinals this year.”

Peter gaped, looking back at May. He had, indeed, not told Tony. It wasn’t that he didn’t want the man to know, because he genuinely did. A part of him wanted Tony to know pretty much everything; aside from May, he was Peter’s only other confidant whom Peter knew he could trust with his life. 

So yes it wasn’t due to a lack of trust. It had more to do with the fact that Peter didn’t want the man to feel obligated to come, especially with everything Tony had going on right now. The man was always so incredibly busy, and, while he still spent as much time with Peter and May as he could, the semi finals this year were in seattle, and he wasn’t quite sure Tony’s precarious schedule could handle an unplanned trip across the country.

Another reason was that a small part of him just couldn’t bring himself to ask the man to come because this was  _ Tony Stark -  _ genius, multi-billionaire, super hero. And he was just… Peter Parker. Even after all these months Peter still had difficulty accepting that Tony genuinely cared for him and wanted to spend time with him. 

“Um, yeah we, uh, are going to Seattle for the competition in about a month,” Peter said after a solid minute of awkward silence where he had been too surprised to know exactly what to say.

“Yes, May told me the date,” Tony said, clearly not pleased that he had had to hear from May and not Peter himself. “I’ve already reserved yours and May’s tickets. I will likely take the suit to get there but-”

“Oh my god you’re going to be there?” Ned interrupted, looking even more excited than before. 

Tony smiled softly at Peter’s friend. “Well of course, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I mean it’s VIP passes to embarrass Peter in front of his classmates. I would be a fool not to take the opportunity” he replied half in jest to keep the mood light, his eyes once again falling on Peter, who looked at Tony like he couldn’t see all of the man’s imperfections, all of his faults or his shortcomings. 

It made Tony both want to fling himself into the sun - because how the  _ fuck  _ was he supposed to live up to those expectations - and hug the kid right there and there, because out of everyone in his life, Peter was the one person that did not seem to be able to think of Tony and a bad adjective on the same sentence. That just didn’t seem to compute for the young man. 

He was so young, so utterly good, and far more precious to Tony than the kid seemed to realize. Which was likely a good thing because Tony wasn’t quite sure he was ready to deal with talking about his emotions with Peter. He hadn’t gone to therapy long enough to unpack how the trauma he had endured at his father’s hands made it so utterly fucking hard for him to fully, loudly, publicly embrace the role of a parental figure on Peter’s life due to his fear of fucking it all up. 

May, noticing Tony’s rising internal stress, reached under the table and squeezed his leg as a way of comfort before saying “speaking of news, I got an award at work today.” 

Tony shot her a grateful look as he congratulated her, her gesture of turning attention away from him not lost on the stressed man.

* * *

“Oh my god, I can't believe you don't have a picture of that,” Tony said in between bouts of laughter, holding the ice cream cup steady by sheer luck. 

Peter shoved him playfully, still red as a tomato. “May would never betray me like that. If she ever had pictures, she's deleted them by now.”

May snorted. “I never said I don't have pictures. You said that,” she pointed out, earning a laugh from Ned when they both looked at Peter's mortified face. 

“It was one time!” He complained, unable to full on feel righteously offended because, well, he was having too much fun. “Ned, what are you laughing at? We've known each other since I was like, nine, May has embarrassing pictures of you too.

“That I do,” May said nonchalantly, taking a spoonful of the ice cream she was sharing with Tony. 

Her nonchalant response only had Tony laughing harder. He had honestly missed this; spending time with Peter and May allowed him to feel a level of levity he rarely got anywhere else. The only other people that managed to make him feel this at ease were Rhodey, Pepper - who wasn't really an option for him to go to anymore - and Stephen.

And even with them it wasn't quite this… carefree. All of them were too jaded, had seen far too much and felt too much pain to be as carefree and pure as Peter was. They understood Tony in a different way, that he hoped Peter could never understand. 

The beauty and peace of the moment was shattered however, as they turned around the corner and three strange looking men were there to greet them, one of them grabbing May as soon as she came into view. 

Tony dropped his ice cream, immediately grabbing Ned and Peter and yanking them hard to put them behind him. Both boys stumbled, looking at Tony with surprise; the man was unnaturally strong. 

“Let her go, right now,” Tony growled dangerously, dimly aware of the lights on the street flickering as his anger manifested itself as palpable electrical energy emanating off of him. 

“Where’s the android Stark?” The man holding May spit out, gripping her throat hard. His hand was covered in a metal chain, and there were multiple symbols tattooed onto his pale skin.

Tony froze, as he re-assesed the situation; this wasn’t three idiots trying to get money out of him, arrogantly thinking they could take on Iron Man. These were likely trained killers, clearly holding some sort of grudge against the Avengers, or what was left of them. 

Tony did not need to think twice to call up parts of the suit to the surface. His eyes turned into a liquid electric blue as his gauntlets came out to cover his hands. Metal shot out from his back as the beam reinforcers opened up, vibrating with energy ready to blast anything that so much as moved. 

“You have ten seconds to let her go,” Tony warned, unaware of the fact that he was floating slightly above the ground, the nanomites slowly pouring out to cover every inch of skin.

The three men gaped at Tony, clearly not having expected the suit Tony now carried within him. Before they could react Tony dove forward, blasting two of them to the ground and grabbing the one that was still gripping May’s neck by the collar of his shirt. He swatted the man’s hand away, before elbowing him on the face. Tony brought both of his hands up, repulsors beaming.

“Who the hell are you working for?” Tony said without preambles, thankful that May had the self preservation to go stand with Peter and Ned. 

The man smiled cruelly before saying “fine we do this the hard way.”

He flicked his hand out and up, sending a wave of energy strong enough that it sent Tony and his companions hurling backwards onto the street. Tony, was the first to get up, feeling a bit of panic filter through; these idiots knew magic.

“Friday, get Stephen here,  _ now,”  _ Tony ordered as he flew up into the air, hoping to draw the attention of all three men. “Peter get May and Ned out of here,” Tony ordered, forming a shield as one of them spit fire at him, when the boy did not seem to respond, Tony turned his head and barked “Now!” 

Tony went on the offensive then, buying Peter enough time to grab his aunt and his friend to get them as far away as possible from the action. He did not want to leave Tony alone, but he could feel his skin crawling; these men would stop at nothing and he didn’t want his aunt getting hurt. So he dragged them with him, forcing himself not to look back at Tony, who was fighting three magic users at once while keeping an eye on Peter’s retreating form. 

One of the men on the ground created a fiery lasso with his hand, swinging it with deathly grace to latch onto Tony’s wrist. Tony’s suit reacted automatically, something deep inside him sending out a wave of what looked to be static electricity which immediately had the lasso backing off as if hurt. 

Tony frowned, thankful that he had his faceplate on because he had no fucking clue what was happening - not that he was complaining. The last time he had encountered magic, his suit had not been very helpful. He knew, after meeting with Strange so many times, that aggressive magic and technology completely repelled each other, but magic generally had the upper hand. 

Not only that, but he hadn’t consciously made the decision to pulse out energy or whatever the hell it was that the suit had done. And then it dawned on him like lighting; he had programmed the nanomites to self evolve, and this capability had only been enhanced greatly with extremis. That was the reason why he had absorbed the vibranium Shuri had tried to use to scan him and now parts of the suit contained vibranium. 

It was likely the reason why Stephen’s magic had been mostly ineffective when he had used it on the cocoon. He would have to test it later, with the wizard no less, to see if his theory was right; the suit seemed to be learning how to absorb, or at the very least repel, some forms of magic.

Before Tony could further prove that theory, a portal appeared in the middle of the street, revealing a very pissed off looking Stephen Strange. 

“I have  _ never  _ been happier to know you have magic portals at your fingertips,” Tony breathed out, the intercom loud enough for Stephen to hear, which earned him a twitch of the man’s lips as he held back a smile. 

The three men looked at the new comer with weariness in their eyes, Stephen's magical aura palpable in the very air around them. He had always had a strong magical signature, but ever since becoming the Sorcerer Supreme the natural limitations that came with practicing magic had vastly fallen away. That combined with the power of the time stone which had chosen him left him with a raw level of power that surpassed even the Ancient One at her peak level - or so Stephen had been informed. 

Obviously he did not have the years of practice to put even half of said power into use, but his enemies did not need to know that. All they could perceive was the fact that they were severely outmatched now - if they were not already before. 

Stephen raised his hands, his shields appearing within seconds. “I will ask this just once; What master do you serve?” 

With a scowl, the man that had made a grab for May pulled out a small black ball from his robes, throwing it to the ground. It immediately exploded, creating a whirlwind of dust and darkness. Stephen jumped immediately into action, making a few circular motions with his hands before raising them far above his head, a wave of orange dust shooting out from his very being to contain the chaotic whirlwind.

Once it was partially contained Stephen brought his hands to face each other as he pushed down towards his waist, his eyes shining golden. The magical particles he had released seemed to follow his motions forcing the whirlwind down with brute force. Stephen continued to compress it for a minute longer, until it finally finished using the energy that was fueling it. 

The sorcerer released a breath he did not know he was holding, feeling a bit tired due to the fast ramp-up of his magic usage. Tony landed next to him, his helmet disappearing to reveal the man's worried, angry expression. 

“They escaped,” he pointed out though Tony was sure he didn't have to. “They were your kind. Do you know who they are?”

Stephen rolled his eyes, body stiff, restless. “My kind? Are we a different species now?”

Tony screwed his eyes shut. “You know what I mean, Strange,” Tony snapped, in no mood to argue with the man right now. 

That only managed to make the wizard angrier for he bit out “contrary to what you may believe, I don't know every magic user alive, Stark.”

“They know about Vision,” Tony said, still looking uneasy. 

“Everyone knows about Vision,” Stephen said with another eye roll. He knew he was being petulant. He  _ knew  _ it, but, after a whole day of mediation his anger had not waned even slightly.  

“Oh for…” Tony took a deep breath before he could lash out and say something he would later regret. “Stra… I don't want to fight you, Stephen,” he finally murmured, locking eyes with the wizard. “Please just… I know you are mad from this morning, but I need your help. _Please._ ” 

The wizard remained quiet for a minute, clearly stunned by Tony's decision to back down from the fight Stephen had been itching for. After stressing so much, and having Tony be simply more reckless, Stephen felt a vicious need to get a rise out of the man, to get an opening big enough to excuse the lash out that had been building inside him for the past two days.

He grimaced as shame began prickling at his heart;  _ this was not about him _ . It was his job to be better than petty fights born out of stress, worry, and misunderstandings. He was supposed to be better, dammit. 

With that in mind, the doctor walked closer to Tony, unable to stop himself as he brought a hand up to cup Tony's cheek gently, turning it slightly to observe the man's liquid blue eyes. “You should take everyone back to the compound. I will meet you there in a bit. I am going to try to get a reading on their magical signatures. There is, unfortunately, little else we can do right this second. I will consult with Wong, and meet you later if I find anything.” 

Tony nodded, grateful for Stephen's quick change in attitude. This was one of the reasons he appreciated the man so much; he could compartmentalize for the sake of the mission. They would have to talk later, there was no doubt about that, but Stephen was not usually petty. He would help and aid Tony no matter how angry he was, and for that Tony was ever so grateful. Few people he knew were capable of that. So, with a squeeze to the man's arm, he took off again, catching up with Peter May and Ned in just a few minutes.

“Come on, I am taking you to the compound, and I am taking Ned home.” Tony stopped right next to May, grabbing her gently by the elbow to check her neck for injuries. “I’ll have the doctors on the med bay ready - I wanna make sure your throat is alright. Oh and you’re staying with me.”

May frowned, clearly confused. “What do you mean?” 

“We don’t know who those people were, May. I can’t… the press knows you and Peter are a part of my life, and I can’t risk either of you getting hurt. Until we neutralize this threat, you are staying with me,” Tony explained, desperation clear in his eyes. 

May gaped at the man, half of her wanting to fight him; the last thing she wanted to do was stay at the Avengers compound, which would likely only link them even more to Tony. But, despite her wariness at the idea, she knew Tony was right; there was no safer place for them than staying with Tony. 

“Is there nowhere else we can all stay? Somewhere less… conspicuous?” May pleaded as a last resort, not saying no outright because she knew that was not what Tony needed to hear right now. 

Tony bit his lip and looked back at the street from where he had come from. “I… can see if you two can stay at the Sanctum with Stephen,” he said finally, though he clearly did not feel comfortable with the idea. “We can talk more about it once we get to the compound.” 

May nodded, and reached out to squeeze Tony’s metal-covered hand. “We’re okay, Tony. Breathe.” 

He gave her a rueful smile and nodded, every bit as tense as before. 

“Mr. Stark… why are your eye’s blue?” Peter asked suddenly, bringing up the elephant in the room. “Also, is that a new suit?” 

Tony couldn’t help but grimace; he could already feel May’s suspicion rising. She was going to tear him a new one alongside Stephen for having been reckless about his little pet project. “I’ll explain later. Let’s just get out of here for now.” 

* * *

Tony sat hunched forward, rubbing his temples slowly. It had been almost five hours since the attack, and Stephen was not back yet. Tony, tired of waiting, had taken it upon himself to do research, connecting himself to the network to review footage of all the CCTV cameras around the area. 

He could hear May and Peter laughing somewhere near him, but his mind was far too tired to pinpoint exactly where. They were definitely still in the workshop, as they had refused to leave him alone once he had revealed the changes he had willingly made to his body.

May had been furious, it was true, but it had been born out of worry. Peter on the other hand thought it was the coolest thing in the world. Obviously he had been worried about Tony’s health at first but, once the man had assured them he was actually healthier now than before, Peter had sat down next to him to hit him with a barrage of curious questions about his nature. 

It wasn’t until Tony told him he needed to concentrate on finding their assailants that the kid had let him go have a moment for himself. 

Tony, quite honestly, couldn’t be more grateful for that reaction. For Peter, he was still just Tony - his mentor, his hero. Stephen and May did not see him the same way Peter did, and therefore all they could feel was deep worry that Tony was either not the same man anymore, or that he had not thought through these changes that could have potentially killed him. 

He understood their worry, of course he did - he had the same worries - but he was exhausted. 

“Mr. Stark, Ms. Potts is asking permission to enter the compound.”

Tony jumped to his feet in record time, his eyes snapping open as he gasped for breath. “Let her in,” he said immediately, feeling his stomach twist painfully with anxiety. 

He had not heard from Pepper since their breakup and, after the whole Civil War and the new Avengers Initiative he was heading, he had been sure he wouldn't hear from the woman again. One too many close to death experiences for her to deal with. Tony couldn't blame her; every time he almost died, it broke the woman a little more inside.

“Wait here,” he told May and Peter who were looking at him, both expectant and worried. 

They both nodded before he all but ran out of the workshop and walked up to the main entrance. 

“Pepper,” Tony breathed out once the woman made it inside, feeling his eyes sting with unshed tears. 

She too seemed ready to cry as she gave him a sad smile, taking a step closer as if hesitating to hug him. “Hey Tony,” she said quietly, before finally coming close enough to bring the man in for a hug. 

Tony did not fight her, basking in her warmth and her scent. “I… this is a nice surprise.” 

She chuckled, squeezing his arm. “I just… sorry I have been gone for so long, I just needed time to think. I wanted to come back when I heard about the…” she shook her head.  “Sorry it took me so long.” 

Tony snorted. “Please don’t apologize, not to me Pep. It’s been, what five months? Hardly a long time. I get it.” 

She shook her head, looking at Tony sadly. “How are you?” She asked seriously. 

Tony immediately stepped back, turning away from Pepper; he had never been able to lie to her, not well. She knew him too well, and he loved her too much. “I… don’t know,” he said finally. ‘There’s just….  _ A lot  _ going on, Pep. I don’t even have much time to think about how I am feeling.” 

Pepper’s heart broke at that, and she grabbed Tony by the hand and dragged him to the nearest couch. “I am going to make you coffee. And you are going to talk to me.” 

Before she could get up, Tony grabbed her by the wrist, his eyes two pools of uncertainty, pain, and hope. “Pep… why exactly are you here? What… What is this?” 

Pepper sighed, rubbing his hand comfortingly. “I realized something,” she said finally, holding Tony’s gaze despite the hurt it caused her. “I will  _ always  _ love you, Tony. You are my best friend. And I thought… I thought it was best if I just left, if I stopped worrying about you, but I can’t do that. I can’t just stop caring about my best friend.” 

Tony swallowed hard, forcing himself not to read more than what she was actually saying. “Does that mean… you will stay?” 

She shook her head. “Not in that way,” she said after a minute or two. “I can't… I can't do that - to neither one of us. You will always be Iron Man and I… I love you for it, and I am so  _ proud _ of you, but I can't watch and wait to know if you're coming back home to me or if the next fight is your last fight.” She took his hand, her eyes pleading. “I don't want to… I will  _ always _ be your friend. Does that make sense?” 

Tony nodded, not quite able to speak yet. This was better than anything he could have expected. Strangely enough at the prospect of not having Pepper by his side in a romantic way. He didn't feel nearly as broken as last time. Perhaps it was because it had been five months already, and he was actively trying to move on, or perhaps it was because there really was so much for him to concentrate on that he didn't have the time to feel any self-pity.

Pepper was willing to stay in his life, willing to support him and love him - albeit differently now. 

A part of him was also willing to bet that a certain arachnid child and a wacko magician had something to do with the fact that he was feeling more and more whole again with every passing day. He had people in his corner outside of Rhodey, Pepper and Happy again. He had people that understood what it was like to live in his line of work. 

So, yes, it was easier to accept the fact that he couldn't have Pepper the way he once wanted. 

“Are you willing to go back to being CEO of Stark Industries, Miss Potts?” he asked with a smile. “I wasn't kidding when I said a lot of shit is happening. I need you back there Pep.”

She snorted but nodded, finally letting go of Tony's hand. “I’m gonna make coffee. You're gonna catch me up. You're gonna give me a raise, and then I can come back.”

Tony's grin widened. “Promises, promises.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IN THIS HOUSE WE LOVE AND RESPECT VIRGINIA POTTS. She is the best most badass lady and Pepperony gives me life. 
> 
> That being said this IS an ironstrange fic, but I didn't want to gloss over or disrespect Tony's relationship to Pepper. This is expanding on what happened in CACW where they broke it off and they will remain very good friends in this fic.


	14. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Fear and anxiety affect decision making in the direction of more caution and risk aversion... Traumatized individuals pay more attention to cues of threat than other experiences, and they interpret ambiguous stimuli and situations as threatening, leading to more fear-driven decisions."   
> \- Suzette Boon

Peter sat at the head of the ship, bopping his head in time with the music. He was trying his hardest not to grin too hard as he watched Gamora hum the song to herself on his peripheral. This was, likely, the greatest thing that had happened to him this entire month - and it had been a rather good month by all accounts. 

It wasn’t unusual at this point to see his fellow Guardians jamming to earth’s greatest tunes. Yondu’s parting gift to Peter had a hell of a lot of good music. Some of it Peter had heard before, but there were also many songs there that had come after he had left earth. Perhaps that was why he listened to the tracks so religiously; he loved memorizing all the lyrics, finding all the little hidden meanings his father had left for him in each song.

And, yes, he could finally admit to himself that that was what Yondu had been to him; a good father. Sure, he had been pretty shit at it for a whole lot of it, but there had been so many good moments too and there was no denying that he had loved Peter. In the end, he had done right by his boy, and the music was a constant reminder of all the good times they had enjoyed together.

So yes, he was not afraid to blast his music full volume at any point during the day - when no one was asleep of course he did value his life - which meant his friends were forced to endure his terran tastes at least a few hours every day. They had never complained about it, though, so Peter had not found any good reason to stop and, once Rocket had began turning it on by himself whenever he set out to build some ridiculously big new weapon, Peter knew he had won.

They had all grown to love it - that is all except for Gamora, until today it seemed. 

The woman had always been the most hardened against anything that Peter deemed to be fun related. She flat out refused to dance, and, at the very beginning, even disliked the fact that Peter could find so much happiness in a simple walkman. But, after spending a few years travelling the Galaxy with her own merry band of idiots, it seemed that she was finally healing from so many years of trauma. 

She was starting to find her own happiness in the little things such as Peter’s music, and Rocket’s pranks. She was carving her own place in their little family, taking a bit of joy in simply partaking in the things the others around her enjoyed. 

It gave Peter hope for the future - her future. He wouldn’t admit it out loud, especially not to Gamora, but he truly loved her and the one thing he wanted more than anything was to see her happy, healthy, and  _ free _ . Free from the shackles of her past. Free from her own self-hatred; free to just let herself be carefree for once.

He allowed himself to fully look at the woman, taking in her soft smile and her soft pleased hums as she beat her foot against her seat in time with the music. She looked beautiful like this, relaxed and calm, illuminated by the soft lights of the spaceship. 

“Incoming,” Rocket said suddenly, as a ship showed up on his radar, coming at an alarming speed in their direction. 

“Is it hostile?” Gamora asked immediately as she dropped her leg to the ground and her eyes went from warm and relaxed to steely sharp and deadly.

“I believe that’s your sister!” Mantis called out excitedly from where she was pressing her face tight against the glass. “But why is she not on her own ship?” she asked to no one in particular. 

Peter turned sharply to look at the excitable woman, feeling like a bucket of cold water had been dropped on him; Nebula rarely visited them and, when she did, she didn’t bring good news. 

“Let her board,” Gamora immediately requested, getting up from her seat to walk to the hangar. She could feel Peter walking a few feet behind her, his eyes trained on her. She allowed none of her worry to bleed through, not wanting the man to worry. 

It was impossible for her to keep a straight face, however, when Nebula stumbled out of her parked bird. Her arm was torn apart, as was part of her face. It didn’t seem like her right leg was working properly either. Gamora couldn’t help the whimper that escaped her lips as she all but ran to her sister’s side, worry finally breaking through to the surface. Neither one of them had ever been good at showing physical affection or had even basic human-comfort skills, but it felt almost natural for her to grab Nebula by the waist as gently as she could to help her walk deeper into the ship.

“Nebula… who did this to you? What happened?” Gamora asked as she took Nebula to their makeshift med bay. She looked back at Peter, not needing to tell him anything for him to all but run back to the cockpit to get Rocket. 

“Thanos,” Nebula breathed out with no small amount of difficulty as Gamora helped her lay down on the cold metal table. 

Gamora shuddered in revulsion, grasping her sister’s hand gently. Before she could say anything, Rocket cleared his throat, announcing his presence to the room at large. Nebula immediately turned to look at him, her eyes narrowing and her body tensing. 

“I can fix myself,” She bit out through gritted teeth, fighting against the pain to try to stand up.

Gamora, however, placed a gentle but sure hand on her chest to stop her. “ _ Please _ sister,” she said quietly. “You’re injured and Rocket can help. So please just… I know you can do it yourself, but if you let us help you it will be faster, less painful, and then we can actually talk about what happened. 

Nebula did not seem even remotely convinced, but her strength was failing her. She wouldn’t be able to fight back against the little rat helping her even if she wanted to. So, with an angry glare she laid back. “If you fix something the wrong way, I will rip out your spine,” she sniffed, which only earned her a huff from the animal. 

“Thank you Rocket for putting up with my shit and actually being willing to help me after I have tried to kill you so many times,” Rocket said in a high pitched voice that sounded nothing like the woman. “You’re welcome Nebula. I am glad your crazy ass is aware enough to know when someone is doing you a favor,” he continued muttering under his breath, moving around the room to get his gear.

He moved automatically, grabbing a myriad things that Gamora could not even begin to understand. 

“You’re in my way,” Rocket said none too gently to his friend, pushing her with one hand towards the door. “Come on, you can wait by the door. I need my space to work. Don’t worry I will make sure everything’s fixed.”

“Thank you, Rocket,” She whispered before the racoon could walk away. Gamora slid down to the floor, keeping her eyes trained on her sister as Rocket began the painful process of fixing all of the damage done to her. 

It was going to be a long night. 

\------------------

“He had begun his search - personally,” Nebula finally said, gripping her hot cup of tea a little tighter.

Gamora stiffened at that, her face turning into a perfect mask devoid of emotions. “How do you know?”

“I overheard him speaking with Maw and the others,” she said, her voice distant. “I… I broke into his ship. I was stupid enough to think that I was ready and I… I almost didn’t get away,” she admitted quietly, not looking at Gamora in the eye. “They’re looking for me right now, and he's looking for the stones."

Nebula swallowed hard. "Does he know where any of them are?" 

Nebula shrugged. "I am not sure what he knows. But, on my travels, I have heard whispers that one of them is on Quill's home planet; Terra." 

Peter looked between the sisters, his anxiety kicking up a notch when they continued to communicate in absolute silence, their expressions none too hopeful. "Okay, time out, what are you on about?" 

"Thanos is making a move for the Infinity Stones. We have talked about them," Nebula said, her voice quivering. 

"I got that part, I am talking about this whole looking into each other's eyes like it's the end of the world thing. What is that about? Look, we know he wants the stones, so we just… have to make sure he doesn't get them, right?" Peter looked around at his companions. "right?"

"If one of the stones truly is on Terra then we have to go get it," Gamora said eventually. "It is not a planet that could ever hope to hold Thanos back for more than a second. We have to get it and we have to hide it." 

Gamora turned to look at Peter, walking towards him to squeeze his arm. "I know you said you never wanted to go back there, but-" 

"This is more important than my mommy issues," Peter said with a sigh as he squeezed her hand. "I know. I get it. I… It sucks, but if it means stopping Thanos then we go there." Peter looked off into the distance, a part of him already lost to the memories. "Rocket change the course of the ship. The faster we get there and find the stone, the better."

* * *

"Holy shit you look human," Tony half gasped, holding his coffee cup a little tighter to avoid dropping it on the ground. "Fucking hell, is this some magic mumbo jumbo? Are you alright?" 

Vision chuckled at the man's reaction, partially touched that Tony would immediately worry about his well being. "Yes, I am alright. I have been learning quite a bit about this," he explained as he touched the stone on his forehead. "It has been... a sobering few months," he admitted. "There's great powering the stone, though, I must admit, I don't really feel comfortable with most of the… abilities it could potentially grant me." 

Tony hummed, feeling his apprehension crawling just underneath his skin. He had had two encounters with the mind stone already and he certainly did not ever want a third. The thought of someone else being able to access all of his thoughts in order to manipulate and control him set him on edge in ways few other things could. But he trusted Vision and he knew the man meant him no harm. If anything, the stone was likely safer with Tony's creation than with anyone else. Still, being reminded about just how much  _ magic  _ the android really possessed did not help Tony feel much better.

"The fact that you are wary of the Stone is exactly why you are a good match for it,” Stephen said as he walked into the room, nodding to Tony in greeting. “Wong told me your training has been going well and that you had requested to come back to the compound for a while.”

Vision turned around to face the Sorcerer Supreme, nodding in acknowledgement. “The training your sorcerers provided me was invaluable but I feel like… well there is much for me to do here as well. The New Avengers initiative is still in its beginning stages and I feel… well, I think I can help here,” he finished slightly awkwardly. 

Tony smiled at the man, coming closer to squeeze his hand. “I’m glad to have you back, Viz. I can always use an extra hand on deck,” Tony assured him before walking a few steps closer to Stephen, unconsciously orbiting closer.

“If you are amenable, you can simply commute via portal if you wish to continue training,” Stephen offered with an amicable smile. “I am sure Wong will be more than happy to accommodate. Our goal is, as you know, for you to be as best prepared to defend the stone as possible.” 

Vision considered the man’s words slowly. “Perhaps… we can schedule training a few times a week. I would like a safe space where I can use the stone without being detected.” 

“It can be arranged,” Stephen said calmly as the cloak flared slightly behind him in agreement, making him look every bit the Sorcerer Supreme he was. 

_ He was positively beautiful.  _

Tony visibly recoiled at his own thoughts, because now was seriously not the time to revisit the fact that he found his friend attractive. Hell, it was  _ never  _ the time to let his libido come out and play, especially because of the type of relationship Stephen and he had; they were first and foremost comrades, and then friends.

Neither bracket gave much of a wiggle room for Tony’s increasingly carnal observations and fixations with the wizard.

“Tony, are you alright?” Stephen asked, a worried frown coming to adorn his features as he placed a slightly trembling hand on Tony’s elbow to steady him.

“Yeah nope I’m fine,” Tony half squeaked, feeling his cheeks heat up slightly. Now was  _ really _ not the time dammit. “Right, so, uh, I haven’t touched your rooms Viz, so they’re as you left them.” 

“Thank you, Mr. Stark,” Vision said as he walked close to Tony, offering his hand to the man.

Tony hesitated a second before shaking Vision's hand, barely suppressing a shudder as he saw the magic from the stone flare up with a blinding yellow light, before travelling through their joined hands and into Tony’s body. Tony dropped Vision's hand as if he had been burnt, feeling nauseous almost immediately.

Vision gaped, looking at his own hand with a horrified expression. "I don't… I- I'm so sorry I don't know what that was. I have never-"

Stephen came to stand in front of Tony, not quite touching the man, but standing close enough to grab onto him if he fell over. "Tony, I need you to breathe with me. It's okay. You're safe. Nothing happened. Just breathe with me please." 

Tony was half aware of the wizard standing in front of him, but the words the man was saying we're difficult to understand as Tony's mind went hazy around the edges. It was as if that dreadful sensation that so reminded him of Wanda breaking into his mind was back. It wasn't as chaotic or sinister but there was  _ something _ in his mind. Some horrifying piece of information that he could almost taste and yet was completely out of grasp. 

The stone was trying to tell him something, he was sure of it.

And wasn't that a completely horrifying prospect? 

He forced himself to take a deep breath, scrunching his eyes closed as he forced his panic back into the very corners of his mind. "It's alright Viz, I am fine. I just… need some air. Strange, would you care for a walk?" 

The doctor stiffened slightly, clearly aware that Tony was anything but fine. "Of course, some fresh air would likely be good for you." 

“Mr. Stark-”

“I’ll be fine. Just…. I need air,” Tony said, unable to keep all the panic out of his voice as he all but fled Vision’s presence, Stephen hot on his heels. 

Tony was able to run out of the compound and onto Bruce’s old garden before collapsing on the ground, falling hard on his knees. He fell forward on his hands, gasping for breath as the stone’s power continued to throb in his mind, making him nauseous. 

“Tony-”

“Make it stop,” Tony pleaded, grabbing on to Stephen’s cloak and pulling to bring the man tumbling to his knees. “It’s… I…. I can feel it in my head Stephen. I-”

The doctor’s eyes narrowed at that, and he immediately pulled out his sling ring, making the motions automatically. An orange portal opened a foot away from them, and Stephen grasped Tony by the elbow with his trembling hands. “I need you to come with me,” the man insisted, helping Tony to his feet. 

The man looked distrustfully at the portal but he did not complain as Stephen walked them through, not even noticing the portal closing behind them. “Where are we?” He asked, still sounding a bit breathless. 

“Kamar-Taj,” Stephen said, not giving any more explanation than that. He swung an arm around Tony’s waist, holding him tight against him to help the man walk into the temple. Stephen was aware of the students watching them with different degrees of curiosity from the training grounds but, right at this second, he couldn't care less. The only thing he cared about was helping Tony. 

He brought Tony up to their meditation hall, where he knew Wong was meeting with Minoru. He barged in without bothering to knock, startling the two masters inside. 

Wong raised a brow, clearly not impressed by Stephen’s lack of manners. “What happened?” 

“Vision shook hands with him, and the stone… it activated on its own. It did something to Tony. He can feel its power in his mind.”

Wong’s face turned grave. “We do not know what the stone is doing nor do we know its purpose. You must cleanse him. Separate the spirit from the body and realign them without the stone’s interference. It will loosen the stone’s hold and you can cleanse his spirit then.” 

Tony's eyes snapped up to meet Stephen's who was looking at him with apprehension and sympathy. "Do you trust me?" 

"Do I have a choice?" Tony countered and Stephen winced.

"No, not really," the man admitted, helping Tony stand up. "I am going to have to use magic to help you." 

"I trust you," Tony said after a minute, as if convincing himself of that fact. “I do. I don’t like magic, you know that… but I do trust you.” 

Stephen gave him a weak smile, before bringing his right foot back. He made a sharp motion with his right arm, bending below chest level with his palm open upwards as he pushed hard into Tony’s chest with his left hand. Stephen’s hands glowed slightly as an almost supernatural clap resounded around them. 

Tony’s eyes widened when he noticed everything slowing down, before realizing he could see his body falling down. 

_ He was not in his body _ . 

Before he could well and truly freak the fuck out about that new horrifying fact, he felt something tug at the back of his head. The pull grew stronger as his body began glowing. Tony looked back, as if expecting to see the culprit of his pain only to find himself falling headfirst into the very universe. Time and space warped together as a myriad images crossed through Tony’s mind.

This was worse than when he had first connected to extremis through the internet. But, Tony could see a golden thread guiding his path. The stone was still there, surrounded with burning knowledge it obviously wished to share with Tony. So the man did the sensible thing; he pulled on the threat and allowed himself to be plunged into the pool of information. 

As soon as he pulled on the connection, everything went black. 

* * *

“Tony?” Stephen asked carefully, checking the man’s vitals for the upteenth time. He had returned the man’s mind into his body and had cleansed him of all external energies and influences, but Tony had not woken up immediately as was the norm. 

It had just been a couple of minutes, but it was enough time to worry Stephen. “Wong, can you-”

Before he could finish his sentence, Tony sat up with a blood curdling scream, his body shaking from head to toe. Stephen steadied him immediately, placing his hands on Tony’s shoulders. “It’s alright, you’re back.” 

Tony reached out to curl one hand on Stephen’s wrist and the other on the man’s robes. “I saw him, Stephen, I saw him. He wants the stones. I-”

“Wait, who did you see? Tony  _ what did you see?”  _ Stephen shook his head. “Astral projection does not allow you to see the future. It is not-”

“The stone showed me something Stephen. It… his name is Thanos. Thanos is coming,” Tony leaned forward, burying his head in the crook of Stephen’s neck, trying his hardest not to throw up. “The stone showed me his thoughts… he wants to wipe out half of the universe. Stephen I have never seen anything like what’s in his mind. I… we have to stop him. He’s a narcissistic, fatalistic fanatic. This is what I have been dreading since New York. Stephen,  _ I was right.  _ He’s real and he’s dangerous and he wants the stones. Please, you have to help me stop him.”

Stephen enveloped Tony in a hug, not daring to comment when pieces of the suit bled in and out as they reacted to Tony’s jarred emotions. That was a conversation they still had pending and which Stephen knew they would have to shelf for a little while longer. “Breathe for me, Tony. Just breathe. The future is not set in stone and there’s always multiple different outcomes. We now know the name of our enemy. We will… we can talk about it later and go from there. Right now, just breathe.”

Tony clung to his friend, his eyes turning electric blue without conscious thought. He did not speak another word, locked into his own mind as dark and violent scenarios churned out of control, leaving him trembling. He had no idea what Thanos’s plan was, or where he was at the moment. All he knew was what little the stone had showed him; the man’s maniacal desire to find the stones and his fanaticism. 

All he knew was that he had been so goddamn right and now he had no idea what he was supposed to do to stop this freak. 

Stephen locked eyes with Wong, who looked as worried as Stephen himself felt; the mind stone could indeed not show Tony the future, but it could certainly show Tony the thoughts of anyone alive if the stone so desired. It was not out of the realm of possibility they had indeed just been shown the thoughts of their enemy. 

The sorcerer had no idea why the stone had decided to reveal this information to Tony, nor had he any idea if the stone had shown tony any more than just a glimpse into the madman’s mind. But one thing was for sure; the threat, which had been an ideas born as a theoretical precaution at best, was now suddenly a very strong and very real enemy. 

And they were definitely not ready. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story is starting to ramp up! Just in case, no Thanos isn't gonna show up on earth anytime soon yet. There's a period of 2 years between homecoming and IW, so i am also including that timeline. Right now we're about 6-7 months into the 2 yr period. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it!

**Author's Note:**

> I can't believe I am finally starting this fic! As always my deepest thanks to Nina who has served as my muse for so many years. I imagine this chapter felt a bit slow, but I needed to set up the world! In case you didn't notice It starts with Stephen shortly after AOU. I am ignoring the MCU's timeline for the most part bc it is very confusing.  
> In this fic Stephen is the Sorcerer Supreme. There will be multiple povs in the fic. He and Tony will also be meeting next chapter (get ready for a bumpy ride lololol). 
> 
> This fic will take place mostly between the two years leading up to infinity war and then it will change some (most) of the events of the movie and the aftermath of that.


End file.
